


How Much For Love?

by Ferus37



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Blow Jobs in a Car, Blowjob in Bathroom, Blowjobs at the Cinema, Cheesecake, Christmas, Clubbing, Coming Out, Drive-In Sex, Haven't watched season 3, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Jail, M/M, Making Love, Masturbation in Bathroom, Peripheral OC, Prostitution, Recreational Drug Use, Road Trips, Sex in a Car, Violence, Young Love, date, motel sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-03-19 21:09:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 138,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18978391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ferus37/pseuds/Ferus37
Summary: About 6 years after the bad night in Hawkins where he got his face punched in by one of the biggest assholes he ever met, Steve Harrington kept thinking he might maybe, possibly, potentially, be fucking gay. He wasn't entirely sure. He was looking at a way to find out, but could never quite get himself to do it. As he stopped the car Steve was almost completely sure he was seeing who he thought he was seeing, and it changed everything. Billy. Fucking. Hargrove.Billy grinned to himself as he walked over to the car on the other side of the street. Judging by the way it had come to a quick halt in front of him he had the customer in the bag already. But what Billy saw when he looked through the window of the car made the arm he'd raised to knock go limp. The guy inside it was Steve motherfucking Harrington.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't watched season 3 of Stranger Things, and I won't watch it until I finish writing this story. It's important to me to maintain the image I have of them in my head, and I worry watching the next season will mess with that. So I will wait, and try to write faster. 
> 
> I love every single comment, and I appreciate them, and I hope I keep getting them, but please don't talk about things from season 3 in them.  
> (I also love every single kudos, and hit, and everything. You guys rock!)  
> Even more than that it would spoil the surprise for me when I do watch season 3, it runs the risk of changing that image I have of the boys, and could start changing how I write them in the latter part of the story. I want my story to be consistent, and have changes in the characters be from events in the story and not from outside influence, and I would highly appreciate it if you're considerate of this.  
> Thank you.

It was a perfectly average night in the city, and Steve was once again driving slowly through parts of the city he shouldn't be driving slowly through. He had this struggle with himself at irregular intervals. He'd get on with his life for a while, and then these thoughts and urges would come back, and he'd find himself here again. Here as in in the car, driving through halfway lit streets, looking at the people showing themselves off as he rolled slowly by. Some of them would sometimes approach his car, but he always drove off before they could reach it. Hell, people in some of these places probably already referred to him as the window shopper. The thing was, he wasn't sure he ever wanted to do anything more than look, and argue with himself over it. You see, the people on the street were prostitutes of the male variety, and Steve fucking Harrington might maybe, possibly, potentially, be fucking gay. He wasn't entirely sure. He was looking at a way to find out, but could never quite get himself to do it. He wasn't sure he wanted to know, because then his life would become complicated, and he sure as fuck didn't need complicated. 

He could go somewhere more upscale. It wasn't like he was poor. Not really. However, that would require phone calls, and appointments, and that sure as all hell was never gong to happen. At least here he could blame it on impulse, sort of. He hadn't been to this part of the city before. Had only just figured out it was there a couple of weeks ago. He liked changing it up, so he didn't become some kind of fixture in one spot. It helped him stay more anonymous. It was almost shocking how many places there were to pick up prostitutes in this city, male or otherwise. It was a big city, but it still seemed excessive. He sometimes wondered if Hawkins had places like this. Most likely the sex trade happened at seedy roadside bars just outside of town, or was agreed on via telephones and appointments. He wasn't stupid enough to think Hawkins had no sex trade at all. 

Something caught his eye that made him stop the car without thinking. He was on the other side of the street from where they were, and the light was dim, so he wasn't able to see properly, but he was almost completely sure he was seeing who he thought he was seeing. Billy. Fucking. Hargrove. What the fuck? His hair was shorter, and he had a beard going on, but neither was enough to make Steve doubt it was actually Hargrove. He wore an open denim jacket, much like the one he'd lived in back in Hawkins. He had no shirt under it, but what looked like a necklace glinted in the dim light from the nearby street lamps. He wore denim pants that looked like they were painted on, and what looked like cowboy boots. All he needed was a hat, and he'd be the perfect image of a sexy gay-porn-magazine cowboy. Steve was so surprised he just stayed where he was as Hargrove sauntered over. 

Billy grinned to himself as he walked over to the car on the other side of the street. Judging by the way it had come to a quick halt in front of him he had the customer in the bag already. He could probably get some extra dollars out of them too. Any car that stopped with that kind of a jerk contained a guy who was already getting hard at the sight of him. This was going to be cake. The guy hadn't rolled down his window, which was unusual, but Billy didn't let that hamper him. He leaned down a little to get a look through the glass. There was definitely a guy in there. Someone who looked oddly familiar, though that was probably just his imagination. One customer started looking like any other after a while. Except the fat ones. Fuck the fat ones. He used to think that about black people too, but after a while on the streets he'd learned the dark ones weren't all that bad. The bad people were the really upscale white guys, and the fat fuckers. The fat people who came to the streets to get a whore all seemed to have an aversion to cleaning themselves. Billy has just plain stopped taking those customers when his monetary situation rose from desperate to bad. 

Speaking of upscale, this guy was in a Mercedes. Hopefully that didn't mean something. It was an older model, so maybe all it meant was that he'd get paid better. He got to the car, leaned an elbow on the roof, and bent down to knock on the driver's side window. What he saw when he looked through the window made the arm he'd raised to knock go limp. Then he leaned his forehead on the roof of the car and swore to himself. His luck had never been good, except when it got to getting laid, which paid off in this job, but this was a whole new level of 'fuck you'. The guy in the car was Steve motherfucking Harrington. Of course it was, because of all the people from Hawkins who could have shown up on the street when he was working, it just fucking had to be fucking Harrington. He considered just walking away, but then the other man rolled down the window. Billy sucked up his humiliation, leaned down, and gave Harrington his best 'fuck you' grin. 

Steve had noticed the looks on Hargrove's face when he recognized him. If he were to guess what they meant he would say shock, then humiliation, and then resignation. But when Steve rolled down the window it was all cheeky confidence, and then he did the tongue thing that was simultaneously stupid, intimidating, and sexy.  
“How'ya doing, Harrington? Out looking for some ass this late in the evening?"  
“Seems I found some.” Steve smiled at him. Their communication had always been a twisted kind of pissing contest, and it seemed they were going to fall straight back into it.  
Except, Hargrove didn't seem to be playing tonight. Instead of making a snarky comment he went silent a moment, and then spoke quietly.  
“What do you want, Harrington?”  
Steve leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. He resisted the urge to be honest and just plain say the 'I don't fucking know' that he was thinking. Barely. He heard Hargrove move.  
“Well, if you're just going to sit there I'm going to leave. I have better things to do.”  
Steve opened his eyes, and then had a thought that just fell out of his mouth before he could even process what it was.  
“How much for a blowjob?”  
Well, that was an interesting sentence to come out of his mouth. What the fuck, Steve?

Hargrove stopped dead, and Steve had a very strong and very manly urge to eep.  
“Fuck you, Harrington. That's not even funny.”  
“I'm not trying to be funny. How much?” This was not what Steve had been planning to do when he drove down this street tonight, and certainly not after he saw Billy Hargrove, but now he was invested in it. He'd said it, so now he was apparently fucking going for it.  
“For you? 800 dollars. 750 if you showered before coming here.” It was clear Hargrove thought Steve was just out to make fun of him.  
“Yeah, because you're some upscale luxury whore in a penthouse apartment.” Steve leaned his elbow through the window, feeling absurdly confident all of a sudden.  
“What part of 'fuck you, Harrington' was too hard for you to understand?” Hargrove crossed his arms. He looked genuinely pissed off.  
“The part where I would be on the receiving end of the fucking.” Steve flashed a smile before going back to serious. “Give me a real number.”  
Hargrove flipped him off and went back to where he had been standing before Steve showed up. Steve didn't shout anything after him. This was not a place he wanted to bring too much attention to himself. He did, however, decide to bring a little attention to himself. He drove slowly and stopped by a guy further down the street. He had no intention of buying any of the guy's services, but he had an idea. 

Billy turned around when he heard Harrington's car drive away. He didn't know if he'd been serious about wanting the blow job. He didn't want to know. He wanted to just stay here in his usual spot until some horny stranger came along and offered him money to do things to him. He pushed down a burn of humiliation he hadn't felt in a long time. It wasn't that he was particularly ashamed of what he did for a living. He wasn't proud of it by any stretch of the word, but he wasn't one to lie to try to pretend he wasn't a boy whore on a street corner. Shit had gone down this road, and he was okay with staying on it, for now. Not to say he'd planned on ending up like this. He'd left Hawkins with a car that wasn't his, with a bag of clothes, some cash, and the words “faggot whore” ringing in his ears in his father's voice, to go along with the ringing from the blows he'd taken to the head from the same man. It hadn't been the first time he'd been beaten senseless, but after his dad found the one single magazine in his room that contained half naked men, it had certainly been the most enthusiastic one. He'd been left battered and bleeding on his bedroom floor. After the tears had dried up and the humiliation had gotten down to a semi-tolerable level, he'd picked himself up off the floor, packed some belongings, and left through the window. Staying had no longer been an option. The road from there to prostitute hadn't been a straight one, no pun intended, but in a way this was where that beating had ultimately landed him. 

He was surprised when Harrington's Mercedes pulled up in front of him again, this time on the same side of the street as him. Harrington rolled down the passenger side window. He waved until Billy came over and leaned in the window. Harrington smiled at him cheekily.  
“So, I talked to some of your colleagues.”  
“And?” Billy felt quite indifferent to what Steve had talked to his 'colleagues' about. Competition was more like it.  
“Most said thirty bucks.”  
“And?” The indifference was slightly harder to keep up, now that he was starting to get what Harrington was getting at. This had to be some sort of revenge for being a dick back in Hawkins.  
“I'll give you fifty.” He held up some bills.  
“What?” Okay, maybe not a joke? Or maybe it was and Harrington was just pulling it all the way.  
“My god, are you thick? I will pay you fifty bucks to get in my car and suck my cock. Not here, but somewhere.” He sounded exasperated, which was not something Billy expected to hear in connection with this kind of screwing with someone.  
“Are you insane?”  
“I'll throw in another ten if you let me come down your throat.” He looked so completely serious that Billy was now starting to think he actually meant it when he offered the money.  
“What the fuck happened to you, Harrington?” He grinned, hoping Harrington would break his cover if he got made fun of. “When did you turn into a pervert?”  
“Are you going to take the money or not?” The testiness in his tone made Billy's mind up for him. Harrington was actually fucking serious about paying him for sexual favors. He was too surprised by the realization to even think about trying to turn it into something he could profit from beyond the money the other man was literally offering him. 

Billy had a short struggle with himself. On the one hand it was Steve fucking Harrington who wanted him to suck his dick, and on the other hand it was Steve fucking Harrington who wanted him to suck his dick. The money won over both, so Billy got in the car. Harrington was at least good looking, and judging by the smell coming off him he was also clean. The latter weighed in more heavily than the former, but both felt like bonuses right now. Billy put a foot on the dashboard and feigned relaxation. He felt anything but relaxed, but if nothing else, his job had made him very good at pretending. 

Steve sneaked a couple of sideways glances at the man sitting next to him as he drove. Up close he saw more details. Hargrove's jacket had fallen more open when he relaxed back in his seat, and Steve caught a glimpse of two necklaces and what looked like a nipple ring. There were several rings on both his hands, and what looked like a leather bracelet on his wrist. He also had more earrings than Steve remembered. It all looked silver, but that didn't mean it actually was. It didn't really matter. Either way the guy had more jewelry on him than most girls Steve had seen. It was surprisingly attractive. It had also functioned as a small distraction from Steve wondering what the fuck he had gotten himself into. And for that matter, what the fuck was wrong with his head. 'Come down your throat'? Really? He'd never said that to anyone, ever, and here he was saying it to Billy fucking Hargrove, because apparently Billy fucking Hargrove was a fucking prostitute. And apparently, Steve wanted to employ said prostitute's services so much he not only forgot about the part where he wasn't actually sure he was gay, but also said things like 'let me come down your throat' and offered to pay sixty dollars for it. He had obviously lost his mind somewhere between seeing Hargrove and now. His next sentence confirmed it, because instead of saying 'I made a mistake, and we're not doing this, but here's some money for your trouble' he said:  
“So where's a good spot to park? I assume you're okay with just doing it in some random dark parking lot.” He hesitated. “Or am I wrong?”  
Hargrove made an amused sound.  
“You don't have a lot of experience with this, do you?”  
“First time, actually.” Steve saw no reason to lie. “What gave it away?”  
“Everything.” Hargrove turned in his seat until he fully faced Steve. “You sure you wanna do this, Harrington?”  
“Not really, no, but we're definitely doing it anyway.” Steve looked over at him. “Unless you want to walk away from sixty bucks.”  
“I haven't agreed to swallowing yet.” Hargrove smiled and licked his lips. “Just so we're clear on that.”

Steve held up his hand in an 'I get it' kind of way. He focused back on the road.  
“How the hell did you end up doing this anyway?”  
“Long story. Not telling.” Hargrove pointed left toward a building ahead of them. “There's a small private park behind there with four parking spots between the building and the park. It's not usually dark, so cops don't usually look there.”  
“Cops?” He'd sort of forgotten about that part of it during his insanity.  
“Yes, Harrington. Cops. What we're about to engage in isn't actually legal.”  
“Right. I knew that.” Steve felt like an idiot.  
“And you won't be able to lie your way out of it in this area. I've already been pulled in twice for prostitution in this part of the city, and they probably know my face. Not that my face will really be visible if they flash a light through the window.” He grinned cheekily. “But then, it's not like you were ever very good at lying anyway.”  
“Hey, I was great at lying.” It was a stupid thing to protest, but he had to.  
“Yeah, sure, Harrington. And you were great at basketball too, huh?”  
“Fuck you, Hargrove.” Steve flipped him the bird to emphasize his point.  
“You'll have to pay extra for that.” Hargrove grinned, and leaned closer. He pointed again. “Between there.”

Steve drove where directed. He found the tiny parking lot. When he saw it something Hargrove had said earlier clicked in place. The place was decidedly not shrouded in darkness. There was a tall hedge on one side, a building on the opposite side, and a fence on the third, and it was well lit.  
“Not usually dark.” Steve repeated what the other man had said.  
“Yup. No one looks into cars that are parked in the light. No one's gonna notice you. I promise.”  
“How about you?”  
“I'll be out of sight.”  
Without any more preamble Hargrove reached over and started undoing Steve's pants. Steve tensed up and Hargrove looked at him in exasperation.  
“You do remember you're paying for this, right? You don't have to do it.”  
“You just surprised me. I'm fine.” He forced himself to relax back into the seat.  
“How could something we agreed on, and prepared for, surprise you?” Hargrove's hand was resting on Steve's crotch.  
“Just shut up and get to it.”  
Hargrove licked his lips again and went back to undoing Steve's pants.  
“Move your seat back to give me room.”  
Steve obliged. 

It took the other man seconds to get Steve's cock out of his pants, and he wasted no time putting it in his mouth. Steve's hips twitched in response. He gasped at the first firm suck, and felt Hargrove smile. If Steve were to guess he'd say Hargrove had pure talent in addition to experience, because the way he moved his tongue was incredible. He somehow managed to wrap his tongue all around the ridge on his cock and put just the right amount of pressure on it all the way both up and down. When he got to the tip he rolled his tongue around it and under it, then he would pull in all of Steve's cock again. Occasionally he paused his movement so he could just suck. He moved one of his hands down to rub Steve's balls, and run his nails gently over the skin. Steve was quickly losing his mind. He was fairly sure he would come faster than he'd ever come from a blowjob in his life. He had hold of Hargrove's head with both hands, and was probably pulling the hair too hard. He had a brief moment of missing Hargrove's long hair, only because he would have had more of it to pull. He would be moaning if he wasn't too busy panting for breath. The result was short bursts of something that sounded a little too much like pathetic whimpers. Steve might have been embarrassed, if it didn't feel so insanely good, and he wasn't this damn close to coming.  
“I-I'm gonna...” He repeated the last word a couple of times before he decided talking was too hard.  
Hargrove let go of Steve's cock long enough to say “I guess I'm gonna earn those extra ten bucks then”, before going back to what he'd been doing, only with more intensity. Steve was relatively sure he came about eight seconds later. Spasms jerked through his entire body, making it almost impossible to breathe. Through his cloud of pleasure he vaguely felt Hargrove swallow around the head of his cock. He was really doing it. 

Just when Steve was on the verge of too much stimuli, Hargrove let go and sat up; Steve's hands falling limply away from his head as he did so. All of Steve's body buzzed, and his ears were ringing. He closed his eyes and leaned the back of his head against the headrest. His heart was hammering, and it was hard to catch his breath. He wasn't all the way out of his haze yet when he felt Hargrove tuck him back inside his pants and zip him up. Steve opened his eyes and looked at him. Hargrove was grinning.  
“Not bad for your first time, huh?”  
“Fuck. That wouldn't have been bad if it was my 97th time. Oh my god...” Steve was still so buzzed out he was surprised he managed to form a coherent sentence.  
Hargrove licked his lips again, and looked almost as satisfied as Steve felt. He leaned back against the passenger side door.  
“Worth the money?”  
“Fuck yes.”  
“Then hand it over.” He held out his hand.  
“Thanks for ruining the moment.” Steve rolled his eyes. Way to get pulled out of the afterglow.  
“What, were you imagining I'm your boyfriend?” Hargrove wiggled his tongue. “Want me to tell you your dick tasted good?”  
“I was enjoying not being reminded this is a business transaction.” Steve sighed dramatically.  
“Yeah, sorry about that, pretty boy, but I've got places to be.” He did not look sorry at all.  
“And money to make.” Steve glared at him, just a little.  
“And money to make.” Hargrove chuckled quietly. 

Harrington fished the money out of his wallet and handed it over. He pulled his seat back into the proper position and started the car. Billy silently counted the money. He was mostly sure Harrington wouldn't cheat him, but better to make sure. Harrington pulled out of the small parking lot and turned the car back toward where he'd picked Billy up.  
“Enlighten me here, is taking you back part of the deal?”  
“If you're not an asshole it is.” Billy didn't turn to sit properly in his seat. He rather enjoyed watching Harrington from this angle.  
“Oh no, I wouldn't want you to think I'm an asshole.” His voice was dripping with sarcasm. It was good natured, which was oxymoronic but worked.  
“Good man.” Billy patted his own breast pocket, checking his cigarettes were where they were supposed to be. “Mind if I smoke in here?”  
“Go ahead. Just roll down the window.” Harrington halfway pointed with his thumb.  
“How adult of you.” Billy pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.  
“Well, I'm not a teenager anymore. Besides, filling the car up with smoke just makes it smell like an ashtray after, and I need to drive this piece of junk every day.”  
“You quit smoking?” Billy seemed to remember Harrington being almost as big a punk as he was back in Hawkins. King Steve.  
“Nope, so you can feel free to hand me one out of the glove compartment.” Harrington pointed and held out two fingers for it.  
Billy did as he was asked. It was an odd place to keep them, but he guessed it was better than having them in the breast pocket of a denim jacket. Harrington took the offered cigarette and Billy lit it for him. 

They smoked in silence for a while, but Billy soon got tired of the quiet.  
“I'm pretty sure some people would slug you for referring to a Mercedes as a piece of junk.”  
“Those people can feel free to buy the car off me so I can go get one that works, like, all the time instead of just some of it.” Harrington punctuated his statement with pressing buttons on the radio. Absolutely nothing happened.  
“I thought you were rich, Harrington.” Billy grinned at him.  
“No, my dad is rich.” He threw Billy a sideways grin. “I'll be rich when he and my mom kick the bucket.”  
“They're not keen on sharing with you?” He was interested now. He'd always pictured Harrington with a great family life. Hell, he'd always pictured everyone as having a better family life than him, and given where he'd come from he was probably right most of the time.  
“That, and I'm not keen on being shared with.” Harrington shrugged.  
“Why the fuck not?” Billy's anger flared suddenly.  
“Because if I do they're going to want to decide things like where I work, where I live, and who I date, and I can guaran-fucking-tee you that list isn't going to include any male options.” His anger had obviously flared too at Billy's outburst. “I left because my dad was way too interested in how I live my life, and was trying to force me into being what he wanted me to be.”  
“You could always take their money and then tell them to fuck off.” Billy thought it was a reasonable option, even though he was pissy when he said it. It wasn't like they were going to kill him if he didn't do what they wanted.  
“Or I can make my own money. Like I'm doing now.” Harrington shrugged, dismissive of the whole thing.

It was too much for Billy. He got genuinely angry at that attitude.  
“I really don't get it, Harrington. If you're driving a car that keeps breaking you're obviously not making enough money.” Billy slammed his hand on the dashboard, and got a little “hey” as scolding from Harrington. “You're letting pride or whatever keep you from a good life, and here I am literally selling my ass on the street to survive.”  
“Don't give me that shit, Hargrove.” Harrington didn't sound happy, but he also didn't sound very angry. More irritated. For some reason it pissed Billy off even more. “You're smart, you're resourceful, you're incredibly good looking, and you can lay on the charm better than anyone I've ever met. Don't try to tell me this is your only fucking option for income.”  
“You think I do this because I like it?” Now he was just feeling insulted. Who the fuck did this man think he was? Never mind that he technically complimented him, quite a bit, it was fucking insulting to have it implied that he might actually fucking enjoy what he was doing.  
“I don't know why you do it. I just know it's not because you have no other choice, because you sure as fuck have other alternatives.” Harrington gesticulated with one hand, still in that infuriating irritated tone, and Billy had to fight himself not to break the bastard's fingers.  
“Fuck you, Harrington. You don't know shit. You can drop me off right here.” Billy put his hand on the door handle, ready to jump out before they'd even pulled to a halt. He pictured punching the other guy in the face, which was easy, considering he'd done just that in the past. It stopped him from actually punching him.  
“No. I said I'd take you back, so I'm taking you fucking back.” He didn't slow the car at all.  
“Harrington, I'm about two seconds away from punching you in the face.”  
“For what? Not accepting that you're too stupid, or fucked up, or whatever, to do something else with your life? I'm not saying you should be ashamed of what you do, or that I think you should stop. I don't care. I'm sure you have a really good reason to do it too, and I'm not going to try to pretend to know it. Just don't try to convince me it's because you're too sad and pathetic to get out of it, because sad and pathetic is something you've never been. It's against your fucking nature.”  
Somewhere in the middle of that rant Billy's anger faded. This idiot he'd only known for a few months in Hawkins. This idiot he'd almost killed by beating the crap out of him on a bad night. This fucking idiot who just paid him money to suck his dick. This fucking idiot... had just said nicer things about him than anyone he could remember, and in a weird kind of way seemed to understand him. The praise didn't feel empty or fake. It felt like Harrington really meant everything he'd just said, and that maybe he could be right about it. Billy let go of the handle and sat back against the seat. He rode the rest of the way back in silence. 

Steve looked at Hargrove when he pulled up where he'd picked him up at the start of the evening. He seemed to have collected himself and as he exited the car he was back to his, presumably usual, grinning self. Hargrove's grin had always been something else. It came easily, but it wasn't often genuine. It was like some kind of defense, but could also be used as a weapon. When he'd gotten a couple of steps away from the car he turned back to face Steve, all cheeky grin and charm.  
“If you ever feel like fucking me, Harrington, you know where to find me.” He waggled his tongue in that habit he clearly hadn't left behind in Hawkins. “Your dick tasted good, so I might even give you a discount.”  
Steve rolled his eyes at him and drove off. Somewhere in the back of his mind he had a feeling he'd stepped into something he wouldn't easily be able to get out of. He told himself could always just not come back, but somehow that didn't feel like a real option. Metaphorically speaking, he might already be fucked.


	2. Chapter 2

Billy was hanging out in his usual spot. He'd already had three customers tonight, who weren't assholes, and was hoping it would be a good night for money. He refused to call them clients like some idiots did. He was a whore, not some consulting office. It was also looking like the weather would be on his side. Leather and mesh were a bad combination for cold and a worse combination for hot, and if it was raining it was just plain miserable. The temperature wasn't awesome, but it was in range of semi-comfortable. He wasn't generally a lucky person, but some days were all right. This might turn out to be one of them. At least, that was what he was thinking, up until a certain 'piece of shit' Mercedes pulled up in front of him. He thought about the argument he'd had with the owner of said car last time they met, and started doubting his luck for the night. 

He had been sure Harrington would never be back. It had been weeks. He would have been okay with him never coming back, because Harrington did things to his head that he didn't like. He made him think of Hawkins, and the past, and the alpha male pissing contest crush he'd developed for the guy within days of meeting him. Funny how that came to mind instead of his dad and all the shit that went down there. He'd been in denial about his feelings, until he couldn't any more. He'd known he wasn't straight before then, but it was Harrington who had really brought home the level of not straight he was. And the guy never even knew it. And here he was, possibly ready to make Billy's life more complicated again. He didn't need complicated. He'd had more than enough of that already. 

Harrington pulled up on the same side of the road he was on and rolled down the passenger window. Just like last time. He probably just wanted another blowjob. Billy could provide that. That blowjob had been fun. They were usually boring. Though, given what his job was, most of those kinds of things had become boring. Fucking had lost its shine a long ago. He didn't even bother with it outside work anymore. It felt like giving freebies, and Billy Hargrove didn't give free rides. If they weren't paying he wasn't putting out. He walked over to the car, pulling out his trademark grin and saunter.  
“Hey, there, Harrington. Come here to acquire my services again?”  
“How much for a fuck?” Harrington wasn't even looking at him.  
“Well, let's not beat about the bush, then.” Billy leaned his arm on the roof of the car and leaned down to look in. “God damn it, Harrington, you could at least say hi.”  
“Yeah, hi. How much?” He looked over now, but only a glance.  
“Man, you've been working up to this for a while, haven't you?” Billy's grin turned genuinely amused, though admittedly not necessarily in a nice way. This had all the trademarks of something he'd been stressing himself up about for a long time. Harrington was obviously a mess of thoughts about whether or not he was really into men. Billy saw that shit a lot. Usually it meant the guy was definitely a homo.  
“Am I going to have to drive around the block asking your colleagues again?” Harrington looked fully at him now. Billy liked how annoyed he looked. Meant he was less nervous now.  
“I usually charge a hundred, but I like you, so how about ninety?”  
“What, am I supposed to barter now?” More irritation. Good.  
“You're supposed to tell me yes or no. Do you want the fuck or not?” Billy pulled out a cigarette and put up a casual pose. He was hoping it would pull even more of the nerves out of Harrington, by annoying him more.  
“I want the fuck, but I won't be on the receiving end of it.” He held out his fingers for the cigarette Billy was holding. Now they were getting somewhere.  
“I figured you wouldn't be.” Billy handed him the cigarette and got in the car. “Take me away, hot stuff. Wherever you want to go.”

Steve glanced over at Hargrove and wondered what the hell he was doing with his life. He was paying for sex. Again. With a man. Again. With Billy fucking Hargrove. Again. He was clearly unhinged. Unhinged, but feeling surprisingly good about himself, while in the middle of feeling guilty and a little embarrassed. A lot embarrassed. After last time, he'd gone back to Hawkins, to see the kids more than his parents. He called them the kids, even though they were almost out of their teen years. While there he'd gone to what he called his secret spot, which was apparently still secret, gotten so piss drunk all alone that he passed out in the grass, and spent a large part of his hangover still laying in the grass, evaluating his life. He'd come to two conclusions. The first was that he was probably, very likely, not a straight man. The second was that he wanted to fuck Billy Hargrove. He couldn't quite pinpoint the exact reason he wanted to fuck him. It was probably a combination of Billy being available, payable, and sexy as fuck. He'd never before consciously thought the word 'sexy' in relation to a guy before, and now that he did it it wasn't some big revelation. It did, however, feel honest. Seeing if he could actually get it up with, and for, a guy would be the last step to confirming he was indeed not straight. Going to find some other guy to do it with seemed like too much work, and somehow risky. Billy was the better option for the experiment, if it could be called that. So here he was, driving off to a motel with Billy Hargrove in the passenger seat; smoking and looking pleased with himself. 

Steve had picked out a motel that wasn't too far off. It had two things going for it. It wasn't far to drive, and it wasn't seedy. Hotels had two things against them. First was that the ones in the area weren't awesome. Second was that a hotel meant going through a lobby. He couldn't stomach the lobby crossing. He knew it was overwhelmingly likely no one gave a shit, but it was the same feeling as when you first jerk off as a kid. That feeling that the whole world knows what you just did, and is judging you for it. The street Hargrove was on was part of a nowhere land between inner city and industrial park. As a result there were a couple of motels nearby. One of them doubled as a conference center of sorts, and as a result wasn't dingy. It was also not cheap. Steve had decided it was worth the money, and had already booked a room before even going to see if Hargrove was there. If he hadn't been there it would have been wasted money, but now it meant they didn't have to deal with anyone before entering the room. 

Billy looked around in skepticism when they pulled up at the motel. He knew about the Rosebud Motel, of course, and had even spent a couple of nights there, but it was very far from what he thought was sensible for someone in Harrington's position. The two nights he had spent there before were with the same customer. A higher up in some company who flew in from Texas for a business meeting, and found Billy on the street nearby. He'd 'booked' Billy solid for 48 hours and kept him in the motel room for the duration. It had been interesting, exhausting, somewhat painful, and had made him enough money to party hard for a week straight after. All things considered, he would do it again if given the opportunity. Even so, this wasn't the kind of place you took a whore off the street. He grinned at the man next to him, who looked decidedly nervous.  
“Fuck me, Harrington. If you can shell out for a place like this you can afford to pay me more than 90 bucks.”  
Harrington gave him an annoyed look, which was far better than the nervous one.  
“You know what, if you want more than 90 you're going to have to earn it.”  
“Oh, I can definitely do that.” Billy opened the door and stepped out. 

They went into the room together; Steve leading the way. First floor, right in front of where he'd parked the car. He resisted the urge to drag Hargrove in to get out of public quicker. He closed and locked the door behind them. Hargrove immediately sat on the edge of the bed and flopped down onto his back. He put his hands behind his head and looked at Steve, who had not sat down.  
“So how do you want me, sunshine?”  
“Freshly showered.”  
“Really? That's the first thing on your mind?” He sat up enough to lean on his elbows.  
“I don't want other men's... stuff on me.” Steve's nose wrinkled involuntarily.  
“I thought getting another man's 'stuff' on you was what we're here for.” Hargrove grinned cheekily.  
“Your stuff, maybe. Not other guys who paid you tonight.” Steve shivered slightly. “Yuck.”  
“You know, I do generally clean up after.” He looked offended.  
“Well, clean up again. Not like an extra shower is gonna kill you.” Steve put full annoyance in his tone, and he was pretty sure it did nothing.  
“Wanna shower together?” The grin was immediately back.  
“No, I'm going to go get ice. I forgot earlier.” He started edging toward the door.  
“Kinky.” The tongue came out again. It seemed to not like staying in his mouth.  
“For drinks. I need alcohol.” Steve held up his hands in a 'don't jump to conclusions' kind of way.  
“I hope it's not champagne. That shit sucks.” Hargrove got up and pointed at Steve in an annoyingly lecturing way. “And don't drink so much you can't get it up. I charge even if you're limp.”  
“I have Jack and coke in the fridge. Don't touch it until I get back.” Steve pointed back in the same way he'd been pointed at just now.  
“A man of excellent taste. I'm gonna hit the shower, like you asked.” He walked toward the bathroom, but threw a glance over his shoulder at Steve. “Don't be long. We're on the clock.”  
“So you keep reminding me.” Steve unlocked the door and left quickly. He hadn't forgotten the ice. It was a convenient excuse to not sit twiddling his thumbs while Hargrove showered. 

Billy didn't rush through the shower, but he didn't waste time either. His evening had been good enough with money that he didn't feel like stressing about getting done in a timely manner. Besides, he could probably wring some more cash out of Harrington if he made an effort. He thought of the instant obsession he'd gotten with King Steve as soon as he had met him back in the day, and thought maybe he'd make an effort even without the prospect of extra pay. When he was done showering he toweled off, and then padded out of the bathroom barefoot and wearing only a towel around his waist. He'd considered just going naked, but decided the towel could add extra enticement. Funny how that worked. Harrington was sitting in one of the two chairs, holding a jack and coke. Another one was sitting on the table next to him. Billy took it and sat on the bed. He took a large sip of the drink. It was stronger than it needed to be, and it suited him fine.  
“We just gonna sit here drinking, Harrington, or are we going to actually do something?” He took another sip. “Not that I mind doing jack-shit for pay.”  
“Take the towel off.”  
Billy complied. He finished the rest of his drink in one gulp and put the glass on the floor next to the bed. He leaned back on his hands to show off what he knew was a smokin' body. He spread his legs just enough to show it wasn't accidental, then licked his bottom lip and looked into Harrington's eyes. 

Steve looked at the display in front of him. The sight definitely aroused him. Billy Hargrove was a gorgeous motherfucker. He also had rings in _both_ his nipples. Steve noticed he hadn't removed any of his other jewelry or his watch either. Somehow it made him look very erotic. Like his skin was framed by silver and leather. Steve couldn't see any tattoos. By the looks of it Hargrove knew very well he was hot. Steve sort of wished he could figure out what Billy was doing as a street hooker instead of being a high paid escort. He was sure as hell sexy enough for it. But he also didn't really want to know, and it wasn't his business. Then Billy scooted further up on the bed and spread his legs more, while still looking Steve in the face. Something in Steve immediately shut off any nervousness he'd been feeling, and an odd hunger took its place. He'd never felt anything remotely like this before, and he sure as hell didn't want it to go away. He decided to just run with it and see what happened. To see just what it was he was hiding in him that now for the first time in his life wanted to come out.  
“Turn around on your hands and knees.”  
Hargrove frowned at him, but did as he was told. He just didn't stay quiet while doing it.  
“I thought this was your first time.”  
“With a guy, yeah, but that doesn't mean I'll be timid. Down on your elbows.”  
Hargrove made an amused sound. He leaned on his elbows and as an added bonus moved his exposed ass slowly. Steve drained his glass and picked up the condoms and lube he'd bought earlier, not in the same store. He went over to the bed and ran a hand over Hargrove's ass cheeks gently. He let his thumb slide down to the hole and rubbed at it. He looked at the well defined muscles on the other man's body. He was so intensely male, and Steve was currently harder than he could remember being before. He put what he was holding down on the bed and started touching Hargrove's body with both hands, rubbing and kneading; entranced. Hargrove had the sense to keep quiet while Steve figured out what it was he was actually about to do. He was going to fuck another man. This man he was touching. Billy Hargrove. 

Steve experimentally pushed a thumb into Hargrove's body. It was hot, in more than one way. He pushed it in and out a few times, enjoying how it felt. Hargrove made an exasperated sound.  
“Look, it's not that hard. You put on a condom, lube up, and put it in. It's not like it's my first time.”  
“Oh fuck you, Hargrove.” Steve's erection threatened to wilt. “What's wrong with letting me enjoy the fucking moment?”  
“The moment is taking too long.” He looked over his shoulder to Steve. “I'm on the clock.”  
“What are you, some kind of fucking taxi service?” Steve picked a condom out of the box.  
“No, I'm a fucking whore, and time is money. So snap to it, cowboy.” Hargrove wiggled his ass, and Steve had a distinct urge to slap it. He didn't.  
“I'll show you fucking snapping.” Steve mostly muttered it to himself, while getting the condom out of the wrapper. He was pissed off now, and was fully intending on letting Hargrove feel how pissed off he was. “You know, you're not earning that extra money right now.”  
“I earn that by you putting your dick in me. Which still hasn't happened, by the way.”

Harrington slammed into him before the lube even had time to warm up. The groan that escaped him when he was fully seated was worth all the riling up. Not that Billy wouldn't rile him up regardless. It was too fun not to; the downside being that Harrington managed to rile him up in return. This was not one of those times, however. Billy was sort of enjoying this, which almost never happened. Not so much the fucking part as the part where it was Steve Harrington fucking him, and they bickered about it. Billy never took the time to consider whether or not things felt good when working. It was way easier to just let it happen and not concern himself with it. Now he took the time to notice, and damn if Harrington's dick didn't feel all right. He wouldn't be coming anytime soon, but this wasn't a half bad experience. Harrington was being rough, but that wasn't a negative. Judging by the sounds and movements he was making, his mind was being blown right now. Billy tightened up just to add to it, and he heard him respond immediately. It made him want to do more, and he started pushing back against Harrington's thrusts. He got soft cursing as a reward for his actions, and Harrington tightened his grip on his hips. It wasn't quite hard enough to be painful, but that might just be because Billy had a high threshold. This was going from not half bad to entertaining. Part of him wanted to see how fast he could make Harrington come, while another part oddly enough had nothing against dragging this out. He didn't try to figure out why. Instead he focused back on the man currently pounding into him for all he was worth. Wanting to see how fast he could get him off won. 

Steve was in a place he hadn't been before. Pleasure didn't even cover it. Paying for it or not, this felt right in a way sex hadn't before. Any doubts about his not-straightness had faded as soon as he saw Hargrove naked, and now they were so far gone he couldn't even recall how it felt to have them. He was definitely, absolutely, completely into fucking men. At least was completely into fucking this man. Good god it felt good. He looked down at Hargrove's broad back and well defined muscles. Nothing feminine about it. The heat tightened around his cock, and he nearly came immediately. Then Hargrove started pushing against him and Steve was gone. He was halfway aware of cursing. His entire world became focused on fucking hard and fast; on reaching an orgasm. He'd wanted to fuck like this before, but had never trusted the girls he was with to be able to handle it. Hargrove could handle it. Steve didn't need to hold back, and didn't try to. Hargrove groaned loudly and started pulsating around Steve. It send Steve over the edge so fast he nearly fell forward. His fingers locked on Hargrove's hips and spasms racked him hard from shoulders to knees. He couldn't say for sure it was the best orgasm he'd ever had, but it sure as fuck was up there. 

He collapsed onto Hargrove, who collapsed under him. Steve rolled off him and lay on his back on the bed, trying to get his breathing under control and trying to get back to earth. He didn't really want to get back, but felt he should. Hargrove leaned his chin on his hand and looked at him.  
“Was it everything you hoped for, cowboy?”  
“Fuck yes.” It had been beyond it. Things were well and figured out, and he'd gotten a mind blowing orgasm on top of it.  
“Will I be ruining the moment if I go to the bathroom to clean up?” The grin Steve was expecting didn't surface.  
“Only if you throw out snarky comments about my performance on the way.”  
“Wouldn't dream of it.” He got up slowly, then bent down and pulled the condom off Steve's cock and tied a knot on it. He threw it in the waste basket on the way to the bathroom.  
Steve looked at the ceiling a while, and then something struck him. He decided to raise his voice rather than wait for Hargrove to come back. He'd left the bathroom door open.  
“Hey, did you come?”  
“Do you really want the answer to that?”  
“I guess that means no. I probably should have done something about that, shouldn't I?” He felt bad he hadn't thought of it before now.  
“No, I really prefer that you didn't.” Hargrove returned from the bathroom. He was halfway dressed and had his shirt in his hand. “I don't like it when I'm working.”  
“What about when you're not working?” Steve sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed.  
“Don't know. Haven't done it outside work in a while.” He shrugged, with his shirt halfway on, like it wasn't important.  
“That's sad.” Steve looked at him, somewhat disappointed he was already clothed.  
“Comes with the territory. If I had the urge to do it I'd do it. I don't.” He sat on a chair and pulled on his boots.  
“That's also sad.”  
“Fuck off, Harrington.” There was no fire behind the words.  
“Then I guess you want your pay.” Steve bent down to where his pants had fallen on the floor. He realized he was still wearing socks.  
“Did I ruin the moment?” There was no joking in his tone. It was like he actually cared.  
“I think I did that myself.” Steve frowned as he thought about it. “Actually, I don't think the moment is ruined. Everything I hoped for, remember?”  
Hargrove grinned at him. 

Steve fished some cash out of his wallet. Two hundreds and a twenty. He handed it over. Hargrove looked at the money and raised his eyebrows.  
“You do know how much is here, right?”  
“With the time I spent you probably could have had another client, so I figured I'd pay for it.” Steve smiled. “The rest is for not ruining the moment.”  
“Customer.” Hargrove looked serious for a second, but then grinned. “And I don't know. You came quick once you hopped to it.”  
An amused sound escaped Steve. He started putting his clothes on.  
“Just give me a moment and I'll drive you back.”  
“Nah, no need.” Hargrove stretched while still seated.  
“I don't want to be an asshole.” Steve had to poke, just a little.  
“You're not being an asshole if I don't want to be driven back.” He waved the bills in the air before putting them away. “I made bank. I'm not going back to work tonight.”  
“Where will you be going then?”  
“Haven't decided yet.” He shrugged. “Might go home.”  
“You could stay here if you want.” Steve held out his hands, as if presenting the room to a potential buyer. “This isn't a pay-by-the-hour motel. I booked it until tomorrow.”  
“Then shouldn't you be staying here then?” Hargrove raised an eyebrow.  
“Eh, I don't care.” Steve grinned. “I got what I wanted.”  
“Thanks for the offer, but no.”  
Steve wanted to ask if he wanted company for whatever he'd be doing, but he didn't. They weren't friends. They'd never been friends. 

Billy got up from the chair, but hesitated before going to the door.  
“Just out of curiosity. Where do you work where you have this kind of money to burn?”  
“I work sales at a tool supplier for construction.”  
“ _That_ pays this well?” Billy's eyebrows shot up. Selling tools paid well?  
“I'm good at it.” Harrington shrugged.  
“How'd you end up doing that?” It wasn't something he'd ever pictured Harrington doing, but then he hadn't really pictured him doing anything other than play basketball.  
“My mom set it up.” He shrugged again.  
“I thought you were making your own choices.” Billy couldn't help the jab, though his heart wasn't in it. Harrington didn't pick up.  
“Yeah, well, what I really want to do requires school, and I was never any good at that.” He sounded resigned, and Billy didn't like how it sounded.  
“What's that?”  
“Irrelevant.” Harrington shook his head. “Doesn't matter. I make good money.”  
“Do you like the work?” Billy somehow wanted Harrington to enjoy what he was doing. It was what you were supposed to do when your job wasn't selling your body to horny men. Wasn't it?  
“Do you like _your_ work?” He scoffed.  
“There's a difference.”  
“It's making money. Who cares if I like it, right?” There was the hint of a joke in his tone, that sounded like a lie.

Billy had a strong urge to go touch Harrington. To comfort him, or something, as if he actually needed it. It was absurd. Instead of doing it he let himself out of the room and started walking out of the motel's area. He wondered what he'd do with the money. He should probably put some aside for rent. His apartment wasn't awesome, but it still cost money. He didn't feel like staying sober, but he also didn't feel like being around people. Maybe he should pick up some of that Jack Harrington had provided, go home, get drunk, smoke a joint, and watch stupid movies. He smiled to himself. Sounded like a well spent evening, so he went off in search of Jack Daniels. 

It wasn't until Hargrove was gone that Steve realized they hadn't bickered. He decided he'd stay in the room overnight. Get drunk on the rest of the Jack Daniels and watch stupid movies. He considered weed, but since it was a non-smoking room he figured it wasn't worth going out to get some. Who the fuck had non-smoking rooms, anyway? After a moment of consideration he decided to go outside to have a cigarette before getting settled in with the alcohol. Might even pop over to some corner store to get more. The night was young.


	3. Chapter 3

Steve was sitting in the car, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. He had very particular plans for what he wanted to do tonight, and they were not the normal kind of plans. They included his car, a drive-in, and a particular prostitute. It wouldn't do with just any prostitute. It had to be that one. Billy fucking Hargrove. He'd paid for his services twice, and already it felt like it was becoming an addiction. What he wanted to do tonight was proof of that. So, here he was, with his car and his money, wondering if it was too early to see if Hargrove was nearby. He wondered if he should try to get his address or phone number, or both. He'd probably get shut down on both. Not friends. Just prostitute and customer. Steve needed to remember that. 

A knock on the window next to him nearly gave him a seizure. He looked out and saw Hargrove grinning at him. Steve rolled down the window.  
“Hey, Harrington. Can't stay away?”  
“Apparently not.” Steve was wondering what Hargrove was doing there. He wasn't even on the street he'd found him the other two times.  
“What can I do for you today?” He leaned an arm on the roof of the car and leaned down to Steve's eye level.  
Instead of asking questions Steve decided to just jump in.  
“How much to go with me to the drive-in?”  
“The fuck?” Hargrove actually recoiled a little in surprised. “Are you looking to have a date now?”  
“I wasn't planning on actually watching the movie.” Steve gave Hargrove a look that he hoped conveyed exactly what he meant.  
Hargrove caught it and grinned. “You have high hopes for your stamina.”  
“So how much?”  
“How long is the movie? And which one is it?”  
“Two hours.” Steve grinned at him before saying his choice in movie to watch. “It's Pretty Woman.”  
“What? That romantic comedy bullshit?” Hargrove looked disgusted. Steve was a little surprised he knew about it. Didn't seem like Hargrove's kind of movie.  
“Yup. That romantic comedy bullshit.” Steve nodded sagely. “Have you seen it?”  
“No, I haven't. But... Wait...” Hargrove frowned as he thought something over. It didn't take him long to connect things. “Oh, fuck you, Harrington.”  
“What?” Steve was grinning like a loon.  
“Don't give me that. That movie is about a hooker who hooks a rich guy.”  
Steve had laughed himself silly earlier when he saw which movie was playing. He'd chosen today specifically because that movie was playing. He blinked innocently at the other man.

Billy was a little impressed. He'd expected Harrington to be a little nervous, like the other times, and instead he was being an asshole, in the best possible way.  
“You have a sick sense of humor, Harrington.” Billy had to jab him back somehow. “And you're not rich.”  
“You don't know my money situation.” Harrington sat back and crossed his arms.  
“I know you drive a shitty car.” Billy raised an eyebrow at him.  
“Okay, fair enough. You have some idea of my money situation.”  
“How can you afford taking me to the drive-in?” He crossed his arms in imitation of Harrington.  
“Never you mind that. How much?” Harrington looked completely interested I the conversation now.  
“Can't you choose a better movie?” Billy swallowed the whining tone that almost came out with the words. He despised romantic movies.  
“I did say we're not actually going to watch it, right?” This time it was Harrington who raised the eyebrow.  
Billy took a few moments to actually think about the question he'd originally been asked.  
“Maybe three-fifty.” He stopped and decided to get back at Harrington. “Actually, I'm going to add fifty because you're a piece of shit. Four hundred.”  
“God damn you're expensive.” His tone indicated he didn't actually think so.  
“No, I'm cheap as fuck. You're going to be taking up over two hours of my time. At least two and a half. Take it or leave it. I can make that on the street in that time if you don't take it.” It was a lie. Billy wouldn't be making 400 dollars in 2.5 hours. He'd spend most of that time just standing around waiting for someone to show up, but he wasn't going to tell Harrington that.  
Harrington looked like he was thinking it over, but Billy suspected he had already decided.  
“Okay, deal.”  
“When are we going?” Billy leaned on the car and bent down again. Harrington seemed like the kind of guy who planned ahead, so he was expecting it to be later in the evening, or the day after.  
Harrington looked at his watch. “It starts in 25 minutes, and it'll take us 15 to get there.”  
“Cutting it close, aren't you?” Well that was interesting. Maybe he wasn't as good at reading Harrington as he'd thought. He liked it.  
“Yes, I am. Didn't want to give to the time to change your mind if you agreed.” He nodded toward the passenger seat. “You getting in?”  
Billy went around to the other side of the car and hopped in.  
“Off we go then. But watching or not, I want popcorn and soda, and you're buying.”  
Harrington scoffed in a way that was decidedly amused, and started driving. 

Billy lit two cigarettes at the same time and handed one to Harrington, who took it with a nod of thanks. It wasn't until after he'd done it that he started questioning why he did it. It had just seemed like the natural thing to do, and it was oddly comfortable to have a smoke together. He tried to remember if Harrington had smoked weed back when they'd sort of known each other. Getting stoned together might be fun. Billy nearly laughed at himself; sitting here thinking as if he and Harrington were friends and were ever going to hang out for long enough to get stoned together. Though, they were sort of going to hang out now. No one had sex for two straight hours in a car. Harrington was weird.  
“So, drive-in sex?”  
“That's what I was thinking, yeah.” He smiled to himself more than to Billy.  
“So what's the next thing you want, huh? A hand job in an automatic car wash?” Billy was trying to be ridiculous.  
“Now there's an idea for later.” Harrington's smile turned into a grin. “Though, if we're doing anything at a car wash I'd want to hot box the car while there.”  
“You've got to be shitting me.” Billy was both surprised by Harrington being agreeable to a car wash hand job, and by the fact he'd brought up the thing Billy had just been thinking about.  
“What? You have something against getting stoned?”  
“No, I was actually just thinking it might be fun to get stoned with you.” He flicked his cigarette butt out the window and turned to face the other man better. “It's like you read my fucking mind.”  
“I'm game for car wash fun. But, if we're both getting stoned I want a discount on the hand job.” He threw a sideways glance at Billy. “Actually, if I supply the weed I want a free hand job from you.”  
“Don't push it, Harrington.” Strangely, Billy thought he probably wouldn't have anything against giving Harrington a free hand job. He'd never done that before in his life. He'd fucked for free plenty of times, on nights off when he was younger, but he wasn't in the habit of giving free hand jobs, and he'd never given a free blowjob. Those were reserved for paying customers only. Not that that made it anything special. He just didn't like it enough to do it without incentive. 

They got to the ancient and less popular drive-in, and Steve was happy to see some of the more out of the way spots were available, even though they were arriving sort of late. He paid, and drove to the most out of the way and dark spot he could find that wasn't taken. Hargrove nudged him.  
“Don't forget the snacks.”  
“Have you seen that line? It's longer than a whale dick, and just as thick.” He pointed to the throng of people. “I'm not going to get you shit until it clears.”  
“So I'm just going to sit here thirsty?” He crossed his arms.  
“I know something you can fucking drink. I'm paying for that too.” Steve looked down to his own crotch to make his point.  
Hargrove laughed at that and stuck out his tongue. Steve reached behind the passenger seat and pulled out a six pack of beer. He gave one to Hargrove, who grinned while opening it. He chugged half of it in one go, and Steve was slightly distracted by the sight of his Adam's apple moving. He opened his own beer after a moment, but didn't drink more than a mouthful. He had another bag in the back, with other things they'd need for tonight's fun. It would probably be smart to move to the back seat, but probably not yet. Hargrove rolled down the window and lit another cigarette. They hadn't mounted the speakers to the doors, and most likely wouldn't. They wouldn't be listening to the movie any more than they'd be watching it. Steve reached for the glove compartment to get his own cigarettes. Hargrove grabbed his hand and put it on his thigh.  
“You know, Harrington, I've wondered how much you think about whether or not you'd like sucking dick.” He moved the hand closer to his crotch. “Or maybe give a free hand job?”  
“I'm not putting your cock in my mouth, Hargrove. I don't know where it's been.” Steve made a half-hearted attempt at pulling his hand back. He sort of liked having it there. “And it wouldn't be free, since I'm paying. Also, if you're gonna keep my hand there, you can at least hand me my cigs so I can smoke with the other one.”  
Hargrove let go of his hand, but also got his cigarettes out of the glove box for him. Steve remembered Hargrove didn't like being on the receiving end of pleasure while working, and realized the whole thing had been done to push his buttons. He was a little disappointed. 

Billy wondered if he imagined Harrington looking miffed, or if his joking around had had that much of a negative effect. Either way he decided against bringing it up. He just smoked and drank his beer, and waited for the other man to start things. He didn't have to wait long.  
“You told me last time you prefer it if I don't reciprocate.”  
“Yeah?” Billy frowned, wondering where this conversation would be going. Harrington was the kind of guy who might ask questions he didn't want to answer.  
“What if I tell you I want you to touch yourself in front of me?”  
“It's your dime.” Relief made Billy grin. This was a conversation he could have.  
“What does that mean?” Harrington looked confused.  
“It means I'll do what you want me to do.” Billy shrugged. “I've had way worse requests than that.”  
“Did you comply with the way worse requests?” He rolled down his own window, took a drag of his cigarette, and looked at the smoke trail out the window as he exhaled.  
“Most of them. Some are too out there even for me.” Billy wiggled his fingers to show 'out there'.  
“Even for you?” He looked over at Billy. His expression showed amusement.  
“I'm a whore, Harrington.” Billy took a drag so deep you'd think his cigarette was a joint, then he flicked the spent butt out his window. “There aren't a lot of things I'm not willing to do for money.”  
“But there are _some_ things?” Harrington looked genuinely interested.  
“Always some fucker who wants to pull things too far.”  
“Right.” He drank some beer. “And sometimes you say no.”  
“Sometimes I say no.” Billy smiled and considered lighting another cigarette. Sometimes one just wasn't enough, even though it should be.  
“So if I tell you to jerk off until you come in front of me...” He trailed off on purpose.  
“It's not even a weird request, or difficult to do.” Billy grinned. “Hell, as far as sexual requests go, that one is top five for easy as shit. Top three.” He held up three fingers.  
“What are the other two?”  
Billy almost laughed at the derailment.  
“I dunno. Haven't thought about it.” He made a show of thinking. “Getting fucked is probably up there.”  
“Blowjob?” Harrington was grinning.  
“Probably top five, not three.” Billy nodded; satisfied with his own answer. This was probably a really strange conversation to have. Talking was usually not something that happened, and talking about his job never did. People didn't want to know. 

Harrington went serious.  
“You know why I'm doing this, right?”  
“The line of questions, or paying to experiment on me?” Billy knew what he meant, but just had to be difficult. It was in his nature.  
“The latter.” His expression indicated he knew Billy already knew.  
“You want to find out just how much of a homo you are.” He tried to sound reasonable about it.  
“God, that word.” Harrington made a move of disgust with his shoulders. “But yes.”  
“Beats faggot.” Billy gave him a meaningful look, and Harrington nodded in a way that said he'd been duly corrected. “That's not weird either, by the way. Just expensive.”  
“You've had people like me before?” He sounded like he was honestly surprised.  
“Many. You'd be surprised at how common it is.” Billy had seen it all before, including the surprise at not being alone in using a prostitute to confirm confusing, and often unwanted, urges.  
“I'm not sure if that makes me feel better or worse.” He finished his beer and dropped the empty can over his shoulder into the back. Billy disposed of his own empty can in the same way, now that he saw it was an option.  
“Doesn't have to make you feel either.” He shrugged. “It's just how it is.”  
“I wonder why.” Harrington dropped his still smoldering butt out the window.  
“I have a theory, but I don't think this is the time or place to start playing shrink about people I don't know.”  
“You're probably right.”  
The screen lit up and they were momentarily distracted by the colors and lights, like some kind of bug by a lamp.

“Will you do it?”  
“Do what?” He looked innocent, but Steve could tell he was just being an ass about it.  
“Jerk off in front of me. I wanna see it.” He smiled mischievously. “Afterwards I can go get you your popcorn and soda, and maybe throw in a bar of chocolate.”  
“How nice of you. I want a Mars bar.”  
Steve grinned, and Hargrove rolled up his window. Steve followed suit. Time to start having some privacy, as much as there was to be had in a car at a drive-in. He suspected it was actually quite a lot of privacy. People were busy with the screen, and banging at the drive-in wasn't exactly uncommon. People didn't want to know, so they didn't. A small part of him said he should be nervous, because he was with a man, but he told it to shut up. People wouldn't be any more interested, and no one had probably even taken note of anything at all about them, including gender. 

Hargrove unbuttoned his jeans. He was sporting the cowboy look again. He reached into his jeans and started rubbing the bulge there slowly. He kept his eyes on Steve's face and licked his lips. Steve's own jeans were already starting to feel tighter. Hargrove pulled down his jeans and underwear enough that he could face Steve with his entire cock and balls showing. He unbuttoned his shirt to give an even better view. He licked his hand and then slowly jerked himself hard. Steve noted he was slightly larger than himself. He didn't mind. Instead he enjoyed how it looked. Hard, with visible veins, and entirely male. Hargrove leaned the back of his head against the window and closed his eyes. He licked his lips again. He started jerking faster and moved his other hand down to rub his balls. He started panting quietly. Steve was intrigued, and completely erect, and had an almost uncontrollable urge to touch. He undid his own jeans and pulled out his cock. He didn't want to come yet, but wasn't sure he'd be able to resist. Hargrove was just too damn arousing to look at. He watched, and touched himself, and then the urge to touch the other man was suddenly no longer controllable. He reached over and touched the part of Hargrove's cock not covered by his moving hands. Hargrove gasped in surprise and opened his eyes. Steve hesitated, but then he reminded himself it was his dime and touched with more pressure. Hargrove smiled, stuck out his tongue, and grabbed Steve's wrist. He moved it so it touched further up on his cock.  
“Grab it. Jerk it.” There was no mockery in his voice. He sounded aroused.  
Steve complied. His first time holding another man's cock. He squeezed gently and started moving his hand. Hargrove closed his eyes again and went back to rubbing his balls. Steve jerked faster, and it wasn't long before Hargrove was panting again. Steve grabbed his own cock and started jerking them both at the same speed. His position was a little awkward, but he was perfectly okay with it. Hargrove's cock was hot and hard in his hand. He squeezed harder with both hands. He was so close to coming, but wanted Hargrove to come first. Hargrove's pants were louder. Steve looked at his face and saw a look of concentration on it. He was clearly close. Steve picked up the pace and in moments Hargrove's hips lifted off the seat as he came. Steve was so entranced by the come shooting out of Hargrove's cock that he forgot about his own orgasm for a moment. He'd made another man come. He'd made Billy Hargrove come. The realization threw him over the edge. He came in a rush, eyes shut tight, body stiffening. He let go of Hargrove's cock and supported himself on the other man's stomach. He felt his hand slide on the sweat and come there, and it put another layer on his orgasm. Hargrove grabbed Steve's wrist and put the other hand on his shoulder and held him upright. It was the only thing that kept Steve from collapsing onto him when the orgasm faded. 

Billy watched Harrington come down from his high. He was dazed himself. It had been a while since he came last. It wasn't as common a request as he'd led Harrington to believe. His sixteen year old self would have been appalled at how rarely he jerked off, but his sixteen year old self hadn't been fucked by men for pay for years. This time with Harrington had felt better than he could remember it feeling for a very long time. Harrington's grip getting firmer and more confident combined the sounds he made had made work turn into real pleasure. Both physical and non-physical. The latter was something he wasn't used to at all. He'd been sympathetic to men figuring out their sexuality before, but this was the first time he was enjoying the exploration and progression of the other man. He'd come to the realization that in his quest to learn more about his sexuality Harrington was actually fucking cute, in a pervert in the making sort of way. He was having a surprising amount of fun, and tonight had only just started. They had a whole movie to get through, and Harrington had said they wouldn't be watching. Billy was okay with this. He was curious what he had planned. He looked down at his stomach. He was also getting sticky, as his semen dried on his skin, and so was Harrington's hand. He grinned.  
“You're going to need to pick up some napkins while you're getting popcorn.”  
“I have tissues in a bag behind your seat.” Harrington took his hand back and looked at it.  
“Well, look at you, coming all prepared and shit.” Billy stuck out his tongue at him and then leaned around his seat to get the bag.  
“Of course I'm prepared. This wasn't a spur of the moment thing.” He reached into the bag and took out a box of tissues. He took a couple out and started wiping his hands. He'd made a mess on himself in addition to making Billy make a mess.  
Billy took some too and started wiping at the mess on his stomach. Then he looked in the bag and grinned. In it were condoms, lube, water, sanitizer, and oil.  
“You don't think having both oil and lube is a little excessive?”  
“Maybe. Does it matter?”  
“Nah. I wish all my customers came this prepared.” Billy instantly regretted the last sentence when Harrington made a noise. He looked up to see the other man straightening his clothes.  
“I'm gonna go get your popcorn. The line is gone.” He exited the car, and Billy was left feeling like an idiot. He really needed to remember to not mention the whole prostitution thing. 

Steve felt like an idiot. He'd gotten upset at the reminder he was paying for this experience, which was stupid, considering he was actually paying for the experience. He told himself to get it together on the way to the concession stand. There was only one person ahead of him and that person finished quickly. He bought popcorn and soda for both of them, and a Mars bar for Hargrove. He hadn't asked him what kind of soda he wanted, so he just got two coke. You rarely went wrong with coke. He managed to juggle it all back to the car, but had to kick the door to get the other man to open it and take his stuff. He got in on his side, but instead of starting on his popcorn he rolled down the window and lit a cigarette. Hargrove followed suit, but turned to Steve after only a moment.  
“Sorry for ruining the moment.”  
“You didn't ruin the moment.” Steve sighed. “I was being an idiot.”  
“I didn't have to, you know, point it out.” He sounded genuinely remorseful, and Steve didn't like how it sounded. He wanted to fix it.  
“You weren't pointing anything out. You just made a comment.” He smiled at the other man, even though it felt just a little fake. It really wasn't Hargrove's fault. “It's fine. Really.”  
“I'll make it up to you.”  
“There's nothing to make up. Now shut up and eat your popcorn.”  
Hargrove smiled, then opened his Mars bar and took a long slow bite of it. It was surprisingly hot to look at. Steve's body told him tonight was most definitely not over.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

They finished their cigarettes and ate some popcorn. Steve thought to himself that straight men must enjoy this movie more, because Julia Roberts was definitely better looking than Richard Gere. Not that he was ugly, as such. He was just old. Like, old enough to be his dad old. That sent a small annoying voice in his head chatting, about how his own dad was likely to take the news his only son liked men, in a very non-platonic and, judging by how he was reacting to Hargrove, quite a perverted way. The voice managed to say “disowned” before Steve told it to shut the fuck up and instead talk about Hargrove's penis or something. The voice agreed Hargrove's penis was worth talking about, but didn't elaborate. Steve ate more popcorn, and noticed Hargrove hadn't buttoned up his pants. He'd pulled them up, but hadn't buttoned them, and his shirt was still open. How could he not have noticed this before? Steve got distracted from the movie and ended up just looking at the other man's body. Hargrove definitely noticed and grinned.   
“Want me to pose for you, Harrington?”  
“Just trying to decide what to do next.” He tried to sound casual, but had an idea he was failing.   
“I thought you had this whole thing planned out.” Hargrove ate a handful of popcorn in a way that was impressively cheeky.   
“I have some ideas, but I knew you're an asshole who'd probably want to screw with my plans, so I didn't go into detail.”  
“You know me so well.” He took a deep sip of his soda, and after a moment Steve heard the telltale slurping sounds of an empty cup.  
“Damn, you know how to suck, don't you?”  
“As you've already experienced. You want me to blow you again?” He wiggled his tongue.   
“Would you?” Steve was just trying to be funny. A blowjob now wasn't on his list of things to do.  
Hargrove immediately put his popcorn on the dashboard and reached for Steve's pants.   
“Okay, whoa. You would.” He grabbed Hargrove's hands and held them away from him.   
“What's the matter, Harrington? You forget why we're here?”  
“No.” Steve scrambled to not look like some virgin idiot. “I just want to move this to the backseat.”  
“Okay.” Hargrove immediately crawled between the seats to get to the back.   
Steve was very impressed at how a guy his size managed to fit well enough between the seats to make the move. Steve quietly picked up the discarded bag of items, got out of the car and went via the door. 

Billy lounged back against the door in the backseat and grinned at Harrington's sheepish expression when he came in through the door on the other side. He sat down and looked around, like he hadn't ever been in the back seat of his own car. It might be true. The only times Billy had been in the back seat of his own car was when he'd been fucking some girl or other in some convenient dark spot to park, back when he was a teenager. Billy put his legs on Harrington's lap.  
“I just have one question for you, Harrington. How the fuck are we supposed to be able to do anything in this cramped-ass backseat?”  
“It's not _that_ cramped.” He tried to demonstrate by kicking his legs out, and failed. “We can pull the front seats forward.”  
Billy got up to do just that. He stretched between them and pushed them as far out of the way as they would go. It wasn't far. It was bloody uncomfortable leaning forward like this, but he didn't want Harrington to know that. He was about to return to the back when a pair of hands on his ass stopped him. He stifled a sigh and tried to ignore his discomfort. This was what he was getting paid for. He tightened the muscles back there and got a firm squeeze in response. Then he got several more.   
“Having fun back there, Harrington?”  
“You just stay where you are.”  
Billy did as he was told. He stayed silently put when Harrington pulled his pants and underwear down to his ankles. 

The hands slid up his legs firmly and slowly until they were on his ass again. Thumbs slid over his testicles and up to his hole. They were much more confident than the last time Harrington had done this. The thumbs stopped against his entrance, applying pressure without pushing in.  
“I want you hard.” It was a quiet request.   
“Then make me hard.” Billy responded just as quietly, though he tried to make it sound matter of fact. He didn't want to pull on Harrington's chain right now. He wasn't particularly looking forward to it, but also not particularly dreading it. He'd been expecting it after the start of the evening. It was no worse a request than being asked to get himself off, and given his reaction to getting jerked off just now he might even enjoy this. One of Harrington's hands moved between his legs and took hold of his dick. He squeezed and pulled firmly, but not roughly, and in only moments Billy was starting to get hard again. He could always count on his body's reaction to direct stimuli. It wasn't always awesome, but at least it was consistent. 

Harrington slowly pulled on Billy's dick for a little while, until he was completely erect. Then he let go of it and sat back. Billy heard some shuffling with the little bag of supplies. He didn't move to try to find out what. There was a limited number of options as to what Hargrove was up to, and he would soon find out either way. Harrington moved both his hands back to Billy's ass. He cupped and squeezed his cheeks once, and then pushed both his thumbs into Billy's hole. They were slick, which explained what he had been doing with the bag. He pushed them in and out a few times, then moved them around and pulled them slightly apart while still having them inside. He gave every impression of just having fun with it. When Billy's erection started to flag a little due to being neglected it didn't take long for Harrington to notice and do something about it. He was being attentive and focused, and Billy found it surprisingly arousing to be at the receiving end of it. He wondered if it was because it wasn't often he was paid attention to during sex, or if it was the fact it was Harrington who was giving him attention that was arousing him. Either way he was plenty hard again in no time, and not disliking how Harrington was playing with his hole. When Harrington pushed two fingers into him and brushed them over his prostate his knees gave for just a second before he gathered himself. He was almost positive Harrington couldn't have noticed, but this was going places he wasn't comfortable with.   
“You gonna get going with some fucking there, Harrington, or should I start paying attention to the movie?” 

Steve responded by pushing harder on the little spot inside Hargrove that had made the muscles around his fingers contract the moment he touched it. It earned him a noticeable, but stifled, gasp from the other man. Hargrove was definitely trying to hide something with his snark. Steve removed his fingers from Hargrove's hole and looked at them. There was something interesting about how he reacted, and Steve considered doing it more to try to figure it out. After only a moment he decided against it. More like his penis decided for him. Given how he had reacted, abusing the spot inside Hargrove to see what would happen had a relatively high potential to piss him off and slam the brakes on what they were doing. Steve's very hard cock was very not okay with the proceedings coming to a halt before it got to be buried in Hargrove's ass. Repeatedly. Until it got to blow a load in him. Well, in a condom. Neither of them were _that_ stupid. Steve decided to listen to his cock, something that admittedly had gotten him in trouble in the past, and pulled it out. 

Billy heard Harrington open his pants. Finally they were going to get somewhere. He didn't like having his prostate toyed with. He was disgustingly sensitive to it. Having it brushed past when getting fucked wasn't a problem. He could mostly ignore that shit, and maneuver so it wasn't at an angle that nailed it head on, and half the time his customers didn't even have big enough dicks to even really reach it. Having it purposefully messed with to elicit a response was not cool. It was something he'd had stupid ideas about. Ideas like it maybe being a cool thing to share if he ever got a decent boyfriend. That maybe it could be something special that hadn't been corrupted by him selling his body for a living. Yeah, stupid ideas. But if he could avoid any customer finding out he was annoyingly weak to being touched there he would avoid it. That included Harrington. Thankfully, Harrington seemed to have decided to not do any more of that crap, and was instead putting on a condom. Billy hadn't seen it, but he recognized the sound of a condom wrapper when he heard it. He also recognized the sound of a guy not used to wearing one putting one on. 

Steve inwardly cursed at the condom he was trying to put on. For some reason it was being really fucking difficult about it. You'd think he'd be good at it by now, except sex between Nancy and now had been sparse, to say the least. Between not wanting to get with some random chick and wondering if he was gay he hadn't been laid in two years, not counting fucking Billy Hargrove last time they met. That time he'd been too irritated to think about how to put the condom on. He'd just done it. He tried to channel his irritation to make it happen again, but that was next to impossible when Hargrove's ass was there and lubed, and fucking ready. Steve took a deep breath and managed to finally get it properly rolled on.   
“You all right there, Harrington?”  
“Shut up.”  
“I can put it on for you.” Hargrove was still mostly wedged between the seats, but he looked over his shoulder at Steve to demonstratively lick his lips. “With my mouth.”  
“You can do that?” Steve got instantly a little harder at the thought of that.   
“Hell yes. I can tie a knot on a cherry stem with my tongue, without taking it off the cherry, and I can put a condom on a dick with my mouth.”   
“Fuck, if only you'd told me that sooner.” Steve briefly considered taking the condom off. His cock protested and Steve gave in again. “Remind me next time. I definitely want to see you do that. I definitely want to _feel_ you do that.”  
“Next time, huh? You planning on becoming a regular?” Hargrove seemed to realize what he'd said a little too late and went very still.   
“I thought I already was.” This time the reminder didn't bother Steve, maybe because he saw Hargrove tense when he realized he'd accidentally brought it up again. It was a oddly sweet, but not quite sweet enough to make Steve forget he was hard as fuck. 

He grabbed Hargrove's hips and pulled him down toward his crotch. The car ceiling wasn't anywhere near high enough up to let Steve stand and fuck. Hargrove spread his legs wide to accommodate the new position. Steve spread his own legs wide, so he kept Hargrove between them. When he got close enough Steve positioned the tip of his cock at Hargrove's entrance, and wasted no time pushing up and in. It felt so fucking good to feel the heat of Hargrove around his cock again. Cheesy as it sounded it felt like he fucking belonged there. Though, if he were to be completely honest, that was probably his cock talking again. He probably would have felt like he belonged with just about anyone right now, as long as they let him fuck them like Hargrove was doing. Still, there really was something special about it being Billy Hargrove he had his cock in. He had been one of the most frustrating, and irritating, and infuriating people in Steve's teenage years. He had also been the start of Steve's questioning of his sexuality. It wasn't until he was balls deep in Hargrove again that Steve realized and remembered this, but now that it had hit him he knew it was right. He hadn't really been aware back then that he was attracted to Hargrove, but looking back he absolutely had been, and it had confused the hell out of him. 

Now was not the time for memories, however, other than making them, by fucking Billy Hargrove. Preferably hard, fast, and thoroughly. So thinking he moved both Hargrove's hips and his own, setting about as hard a pace as could be done in the backseat of an old Mercedes. After a few thrusts to just enjoy how absolutely delicious it felt to be fucking, Steve let go of Hargrove's hips with one hand, then reached around and grabbed his cock. He knew Hargrove didn't find this to be awesome, but he wanted to feel a cock in his hand while fucking. He also knew Hargrove had known it would happen, and accepted it. Steve wanted to explore, and today he wanted to explore holding and jerking another man's cock. He wanted to feel what it was like to have Hargrove come while he was inside him. Having the firm hot length of Hargrove's cock in his hand was arousing, to say the least. He squeezed and pulled, feeling the skin move over the blood hardened tissue underneath. Hargrove tightened the muscles around Steve's cock in response. Steve groaned and jerked his hips harder than he intended. Hargrove made a little sound, and Steve immediately decided he would do it repeatedly. 

Harrington was doing weird things to him, and Billy wasn't sure what to do about it. It wasn't so much what was being done to him physically as it was the experience that was Harrington exploring his body that was making him feel weird things. This was starting to feel like normal sex. The kind he used to have for fun. The kind he used to love. Was it because he liked Harrington? Was it because of memories of jacking off to thoughts of Harrington showering? Maybe it was just because he was the center of all of Harrington's attention. He wasn't sure the reason mattered. What mattered was that he was getting into this. He found himself moving certain ways to get more pleasure out of it. Part of him found it a little disturbing, but the main part of him just wanted to roll with it. So he did. He was going to come with Harrington's dick up his ass, and he was okay with it. Hell, he was actually fucking looking forward to it. Fancy that. 

Even though the position was awkward, and the back seat of the car was cramped, and his legs were getting tired, this was the best time Steve had ever had. Sex had never been this awesome. The first time he fucked Hargrove had been amazing and had helped him figure out a lot about himself, but this time was better. This time he wasn't confused, or worried, or embarrassed. This time it was pleasure, and fun, and exploring, and he was very fast approaching an orgasm. He just had to make sure Hargrove came first. Unfortunately he wouldn't be able to keep this pace up much longer. He needed to change their position, but he wasn't sure which position would get Hargrove to come the fastest. He had a sudden stroke of genius. He had no idea if it would result in Hargrove coming first, but now that he'd thought it he needed it. Immediately.  
“Hey, Hargrove.” Steve stopped their movement.  
“What? What are you stopping for?” Hargrove sounded like he was annoyed by the interruption, and it made Steve oddly happy. He could pretend Hargrove was enjoying it for a moment.   
“Ride me.”  
“In the backseat of the fucking car?” He looked at Steve over his shoulder with an expression of mild disbelief on his face. “How short do you think I am?”  
“Lean forward or something.”   
“Okay, fine. Lie down.” Hargrove pulled away enough that Steve's cock slipped out of him. When the cool air hit him Steve instantly regretted wanting the change.   
“Lie down?” Steve looked from one side of the car to the other and tried to figure out how in the hell he was going to fit his body that way.   
“Look, it's gonna be awkward as fuck either way. Lie down and give me room to move and I might be able to make it good for you.” 

There was a lot of awkward shuffling around, and removing of clothes, that probably rocked the car more than their recent fucking had. Steve ended with his head crammed up against one door, and one leg bent and crammed up against the other door. His ass was only halfway on the seat. This let Hargrove straddle him, with one leg bent on the seat and the other on the floor. He leaned over Steve with one arm on the back of the back seat and the other arm braced against the back of the front seat. His head and shoulders were nearly brushing the roof. Steve noted it wasn't a far move to pull Hargrove down for a kiss. He wouldn't do it, but if he had wanted to he could have. He had a feeling it wouldn't be received well. Pretending they were having sex just for the enjoyment of it didn't stretch that far. Steve's cock had started to soften just a little in the struggle to get semi-horizontal, but a couple of quick jerks from the other man fixed it easily, and seconds later Hargrove lowered himself onto it. Steve moaned quietly and thought the change was probably worth it. Then Hargrove started to move, and tightened the muscles in his ass with every upward pull, and Steve knew all the moving about had been for the best possible cause. He looked up and met Hargrove's eyes. The other man grinned at him and licked his lower lip. He looked amused, and not at all like he was on the clock. Steve couldn't help but grin back at him. 

Riding Harrington's dick hadn't been on his list of things to do today, but Billy was sure as hell not complaining about the development. This was infinitely better than whatever would have happened had he stayed on the street tonight. He knew whoever customer he might have gotten wouldn't have been able to give him anywhere near what he was feeling right now. He looked down at Harrington's face. It was more mature now, and it had made him more handsome. Billy did some quick pulses of the muscles around his hole; something he had practiced until he got good at it. Harrington's eyes went unfocused and the look of pleasure on his face made him beautiful. Billy had an odd urge to kiss him. He couldn't remember the last time he had wanted to kiss someone. He wouldn't do it, but it was a novelty to have the want, even if it was short lived. Instead of kissing him Billy pulsed his muscles again. He got a loud groan in response, and it felt good. An unexpected thing he got in response was Harrington taking hold of his dick again and jerking it firmly and quickly. What was even more unexpected was the surge of pleasure it gave Billy. It felt fucking good. In fact, it felt so fucking good he was probably going to come really fucking fast from it. Billy braced his hands on Harrington's chest, in a position that let him rub his thumbs over his nipples. Soon he was panting and making incoherent sounds. Billy might have gloated over making him fall apart, if he wasn't falling apart himself. Harrington reached his free hand up and pinched Billy's nipple in return. Oh yes, competitive. This was going to be a race to see who made who come first, and Billy had experience he was planning on using against Harrington with abandon. This was going to be the most fun finish to sex he'd had in years. 

Steve was determined to make Hargrove come first, but he was very fast losing this battle. Every few seconds he would involuntarily loosen his grip on Hargrove because of the pleasure that was inflicted on him. However, he was nothing if not competitive, and determined. He let go of Hargrove's nipple and ran his nails down his torso, leaving red welts in their wake. Hargrove moaned and his movements stuttered for a moment. Steve grinned, even while panting from the pleasure he was in himself. He moved his hand down to cup Hargrove's balls. He pumped his hips hard to meet the other man's thrusts, and at the same time jerked the cock in his hand roughly and squeezed the balls a little harder than gentle. Hargrove lost the competition. With an open mouthed stuttering moan he came in Steve's hand. His testicles pulsed in Steve's hand and his hole pulsed around Steve's cock, and Steve came so hard his lungs locked up. Somewhere in the flare of pleasure he lost time. He didn't know how much, but the next moment he was aware of, Hargrove was collapsed on his chest. Their breathing matched as they came down together. 

The weight of Hargrove on top of him was oddly comfortable, considering how heavy the man was. The car seat he was on top of was not comfortable, nor was the position of his legs, so Steve was left trying to decide how long he wanted to stay where he was before dislodging the other man. He looked over Hargrove's shoulder and noticed all the windows were fogged over. It was no wonder, given the amount of heat they had both given off, and the sweat covering them. Hargrove had made no move to indicate he was even conscious. His nose was touching Steve's neck and blowing hot air on his damp skin. It felt really nice, and intimate, but Steve's body quickly let him know moving was going to have to happen.  
“Hargrove?”  
“Mm?” He didn't move, but Steve felt the hot air from his reply against his neck.  
“I think some of my muscles are taking permanent damage from being in this position.” Steve tried to lift his head, but failed, due to it being pressed against the door.   
“You should get a car with a more comfortable back seat.” Still nothing.   
“I'm working on it.”  
“While you're at it you should get one that has the roof higher up.” He lifted his head and looked at the side of Steve's face, but didn't move anything else. “I banged my head a couple of times.”   
“I said I'm working on it.” Steve tried to wiggle Hargrove off him. “You're still on top of me, by the way.”  
“And you're still inside me.” Hargrove tightened the muscles of his ass and in spite of being well spent, Steve's cock appreciated it.   
“I won't be if you just get your ass up and off me.” Steve tried to get his hands between them so he could push Hargrove away. It failed. He sighed dramatically. 

Billy looked at Harrington's face. He was close enough to see a little stubble peeking through the skin. He had an absurd urge to lick it, which he interpreted as his cue to get up. The shuffling around was even more awkward now. They were damp and mostly naked, and the seat was leather. There were undignified sounds when they peeled themselves off it, particularly when Harrington sat up. Billy snorted in amusement while looking for his clothes. It was dark in the back seat; even more so with all the windows steamed up. Harrington joined in, and eventually they were able to find their clothes, figure out what belonged to who, wipe off their sticky bodies with tissues from Harrington's great stash of preparation, and get dressed. Billy leaned between the seats to pull them back again, and almost immediately felt a hand on his ass.   
“You still not satisfied, Harrington?”  
“What can I say? You have a nice ass.” He squeezed Billy's ass a little more roughly than was necessary, then left the car.   
He wondered if Harrington had someone figured out Billy liked it rough, or if he just liked giving it rough. Billy quickly scrambled between the seats again, just so he could sit and look all relaxed when Harrington entered the front seat.   
“Took you so long?”  
“Bite me.” There was no venom in it. He leaned the back of the seat back so he could half lie down. He looked tired.   
“Now?” Billy grinned at him, just to be annoying.   
“Just shut up and get me a beer, and a cigarette.”  
“Giving orders now?”  
“Oh, for fuck... please grab me a beer and a cigarette.” He held out his hand in a gesture that said both 'give me' and 'happy now?'.   
Billy fumbled around until he found the beer bag and handed one over. Then he lit them both a cigarette. He opened the window and leaned his own seat back. Life was feeling pretty good right now. 

They smoked in companionable silence for a while. Steve felt tired, used up, and awesome. The windshield had almost completely cleared up, so they could see the movie again. There wasn't much left of it, but he didn't mind that at all. He'd gotten something much better than a stupid movie out of this drive-in visit.   
“Hey, Harrington.”   
“Yeah?” Steve turned his head only a tiny bit to look at him.   
“Didn't you use to drive a BMW?” Hargrove took a chug of his beer and didn't look back at Steve.   
“Yeah.” Steve had known this would come up at some point if he spent time with Hargrove. The man knew too much about cars to not notice he'd switched from a Beemer to a Benz. An old Benz.  
“What happened to it?”  
“My dad sold it.” Steve said it and waited for the reaction.  
Hargrove sat up and looked straight at him, but said nothing. Steve shrugged.  
“It was his car. I mean, he bought it. When I got my license. He was going to transfer ownership of it to me when I turned 18, but never did. And then I pissed him off and he sold it.” He shrugged again, like it wasn't important.   
“How'd you piss him off that much?”  
“I said I didn't want to be what he wanted me to be. No following in his footsteps.”  
“That was it?” Hargrove looked slightly disbelieving.  
“Did I mention my dad's an asshole?” Steve tried to sound matter of fact about it, but his dad selling the car from under him and threatening to disown him still stung. Like he wasn't worth anything if he didn't do as he was told. “My mom felt guilty, so she talked to a friend who had an old Mercedes sitting in the back of his yard, and got it for me.” Steve patted the steering wheel. “This Mercedes, in case it was unclear.”   
“Didn't she also get you your job?” He frowned in question.  
“Yeah.” Steve was impressed Hargrove remembered. He barely remembered telling him himself. “My dad was all set to throw me out on my ass for not being a good son. He threatened to do it, anyway. She set me up with a job working for someone she knows, so I could get an apartment away from them. In secret, mind you. I figured I might as well take it.”  
“If it was a matter of just taking any job, couldn't you have just taken the job your dad wanted you to take?” He flicked his cigarette butt out the window, in the direction of Julia Roberts.  
“I would have had to both work _for_ him and _with_ him. Yeah, no thanks.” Steve finished his beer in two chugs and held out a hand for another one. Hargrove complied. “At least this way I could get the hell out of Dodge.”  
“Yeah, if I'd have to work with my dad I would have ended up killing either him or me.” He leaned back in his seat again and opened a new beer too. “Or he would have killed me. I prefer being a whore.”

The credits rolled. Billy found himself wishing they had more time. He was almost tempted to tell Harrington no charge, since he'd had actual fun. Almost. A guy needed food, after all. Either way he wasn't in a hurry to leave, so he lit another cigarette and just sat there. Harrington made no move to start the car. Instead he looked at Billy from the corner of his eyes.   
“So where do you live?”  
“Looking to show up on my doorstep, Harrington?”  
“I don't need your address. I'm just curious if you live near where you work, or if you commute.” He grinned. “I can't quite picture you on a bus.”  
“Screw you. I take the bus all the time. No car.”  
“To work? Like an office worker?” He grinned cheekily, and Billy just had to grin back.  
“Part of the way. Not all the way. I like the walk, and sometimes I move spots.”  
“So?” Harrington drew it out, clearly still asking about where Billy lived.  
“Does it matter?”  
“No, not really. Just curious.”  
“It's this shitty ghetto over in Crapville. It's populated by prostitutes, drug addicts, petty criminals, and lots of poor colored families.”  
“I seem to remember you not liking the colored people.” Harrington shook his beer can as if to make sure it was empty. He didn't ask for a new one. “And Crapville isn't very specific.”  
“They literally call it that. It's over on the west side. And I was young and stupid, and had been taught bad things. Black people ain't so bad. Same with Hispanics. I share a small shitty apartment with two other whores. A stupidly tall white tranny who's built like a football player, and talks like a black mom with three kids, and a small Brazilian dude who specializes in old men with a taste for teenagers. He's like 25, but looks like he's 16. He wears makeup to complete the young look.”  
“That's a little disturbing.” He made a face. Billy just assumed he was talking about the old guys with a taste for teenagers, and not the other stuff.   
“You do what you need to do to make money.”  
“Except work at like, Walmart.” There was only a slight hint of snark in his tone. Billy wasn't annoyed by it.   
“Except that,” he agreed. He really would rather have his current job than work there. “I've pretty much blown my chances for that anyway.”  
“How?”  
“Three arrests for prostitution, and one minor drug charge.” He tried to make it sound like it was an everyday normal thing. Where he lived it sort of was. “I managed to avoid jail time on all of them, but probation and community service suck.”  
“Drug charge too?” Harrington looked disbelieving, which Billy found odd, considering Harrington had seen him high as a kite at more than one party.   
“How do you think I got into prostitution?” He shrugged. “The classic tale of a stupid teenager looking to fuel a drug habit.” It wasn't strictly how it happened, but Harrington didn't need to know that. This explanation was simpler and not untrue enough to be a flat out lie. 

The one employee present at the drive-in waved at them to leave the lot, so Steve started the car and rolled out. He hadn't noticed the entire place had emptied around them while they talked. He smiled to himself when he realized there hadn't even remotely been a moment ruining moment after their romp in the back seat.   
“Not that I'm not enjoying your company, and just so we're clear I really am enjoying your company, but where should I drop you off?”  
“Afraid of hurting my feelings?”   
“Hoping you'll say we can hang out more, without me paying you maybe. Maybe have a beer somewhere other than the car?” It was true, but Steve was mostly sure it wasn't going to happen. He was trying to make it sound like a joke, so he had an out when Hargrove said no.   
“I'm going to level with you here, Harrington.”  
“Please do.” Steve was encouraged by the lack of making fun of. He'd half expected to be poked at.  
“Tonight as been more fun than I've had in a long time. I'm not a good enough person to say it's a free ride, but...”  
“I'm not asking you to.”  
“ _But_ ,” he emphasized while holding up a finger to silence Steve. “This has been been more than just work. When I say it's been fun, I really mean it.”  
“That's cool. Thanks.”  
“At the same time, I'm not gonna do the buddy thing after fucking for pay. It complicates everything.”  
“Yeah, I get that.” He really did. He had no issues with the man wanting to avoid complicated. “Thanks for not just blowing me off with a joke. I appreciate that.”  
“Cool.” Hargrove lit a cigarette instead of elaborating.   
“Wallet's in the glove compartment, by the way. I hope it's enough, because I don't have any more on me.” There was 500 in there. Hargrove had said 400, but they'd probably done more than he'd been expecting. 

There was some digging around in the glove box, with a slight break to give Harrington a lit cigarette, but Billy soon found the wallet and opened it. There was a lot of money in it. Too much.   
“The fuck do you get all this money from anyway? Does your job really pay that well? Because if it does you could afford someone more upscale.”  
“I've been saving for a new car.” Harrington shrugged, but then threw Billy a grin. “And who says I want someone more upscale?”  
“Wait a fucking minute here.” Billy had to make sure he got this revelation right. “Have you been digging into your savings to get money to fuck me?”  
“We've been over this. What I do with my money is my business.” His tone was very calm and reasonable. Billy looked for annoyance in it, but didn't find it.   
“Yeah, but fuck, man. You keep saying this car is old and shitty.”   
“I do not. And it's not so broken I can't use it a few months longer.” He shrugged. “Besides, tonight was more fun than I'll have in a new sensible car.”  
“Sensible?”  
“I won't be able to afford anything flashy. No more BMW's and Benz's for me for a while.”  
“You gonna get one of those tiny foreign cars?” Billy had a lot of disdain for the small foreign cars. He'd been fucked in a Mazda 323 twice, and once up against a Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback, in the snow, because the thing was too goddamn small to fuck inside of, and that was all the information he needed about the tiny little pieces of crap Asia made.  
“I don't know. Someone told me I need a taller car with a better back seat.” Harrington threw him a glance and smile that were somewhere between cheeky and lewd.  
Billy chuckled and pocketed his money. He didn't take the full 400. Taking all he'd said it would cost felt a little like cheapening the experience he'd had. And it didn't seem right to dig too much out of a guy's car fund. He had a sudden impulse, that he didn't look too closely at.   
“You know what, if it's not too far for you to drive, how about I show you where Crapville is?”  
“Do they really call it that?” Harrington frowned in skepticism.  
“Yes, they do. Even the cops refer to it as that.” Billy shrugged and pointed in the direction they should drive, before actually getting it confirmed they'd drive there. “It's not _that shitty_. At least not all of it. But it used to be, like in the 40's or something, and the name stuck.”  
“Interesting.” Harrington nodded, seemingly more to himself than to Billy. “Sure, I can take you.”  
“Cool.”

They didn't talk much during the drive. Steve didn't mind. Somehow silence with Hargrove was getting more and more comfortable. He didn't feel the need to constantly talk just so it wouldn't get too quiet, which was unusual for him. They smoked, and Hargrove finished off the last beer, with Steve's permission. Then Steve enjoyed watching the other man spend several minutes trying to get the car stereo to react. It didn't. Steve poked him to light him another cigarette. He liked having Hargrove light them for him. He was clearly a weirdo.   
“You smoke too much, Harrington.”  
“I do not. I only smoke like 20 a day.” Steve thought of his dad's three pack a day habit, and figured he was doing okay.   
“That's a lot.”  
“I notice you light one up every time I do.” Steve blew smoke in his face just to make the point.   
“Peer pressure.” Hargrove nodded reasonably, and lit himself one of Steve's cigarettes.   
Steve scoffed. Hargrove grinned at him, and then explained where to drive next. They were almost there. Steve sort of wanted to waste a little more time, but wasn't going to. It was time to conclude the evening. 

They reached Billy's street, but he wasn't going to tell Harrington they were this close to his home. He pointed to a basketball court that was in view down the street.   
“You can drop me off there.”  
“You live here?” Harrington slowed down and looked out the windshield and up at the buildings around them.   
The buildings were brown, and boring, and worn down. The street, however, was anything but boring. Things happened all the damn time; not always good things. Probably not even usually good things. But there was an interesting sense of community under all the shit, and Billy felt a part of it. He had never felt part of a community before falling into this one. He wouldn't say it was great and that it was like family, but he didn't feel like an outcast, and he liked that a lot. It wasn't unusual for him to hang out at the basketball court. He sometimes taught kids to play, or played one-on-one with some of the more talented guys. Sometimes a couple of the local cops would come hang out too. It was a way for them to keep an eye on what was going on, and to try to fish out where trouble might come from before it started. It wasn't uncommon for there to be trouble brewing. The crime rate in the area was high, and there were gangs floating around. The cops who came around were generally good guys. They knew what he did for a living, but they never indicated they looked down on him for it. He appreciated that, and he never peddled his wares this close to home, so they had a good relationship. He liked them. 

Harrington stopped the car at the curb by the court. Billy grinned at him when he looked at him.   
“Close enough to here that I can walk the rest of the way.”  
“I can take you all the way.”  
“That would mean you'd have my address.” He stuck out his tongue in his trademark disarmingly cheeky fashion. “Here's fine.”  
“Yeah, okay. I get it.”   
Billy searched for hurt or something like it in Harrington's tone, but found nothing of the sort. Judging by how he said it he did actually get it.   
“You're a cool guy, Harrington. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.”  
Harrington snorted, but looked pleased at the compliment. Billy was struck by how much he liked the guy. Steve Harrington was a guy he would probably enjoy being friends with, had life turned out differently. He took a moment to enjoy the thought of beer, pizza, and bad movies with Harrington, or getting stoned with him and contemplating stupid shit in far more detail than it warranted. His own silliness made him grin, but an impulse struck him, and he decided to run with it. 

Hargrove stopped before exiting the car, grinned, and leaned in toward him. Steve wondered for a second if he was going to get kissed, but Hargrove moved toward his ear instead and whispered.   
“If you show up with weed I am all game for a free hand job in a car wash. I might even throw in a blowjob after.”  
“Not instead of?” Breathing was getting a tiny bit difficult.  
“In addition to.” He licked the shell of Steve's ear.   
Steve made a sound that was embarrassingly close to a whimper.  
“Fuck, I'm getting hard again now.”  
“Better get your ass home to jack off then, because I'm off the clock.” He patted the pocket where he had put the money. “And rich. See ya around, Harrington.” He exited the car with a wave, and Steve was left sitting with pants that were feeling a little too tight, and a goal to dig up someone to buy weed from, and find a suitable car wash to hot box in. He watched Hargrove flip the bird to some dude across the street he apparently knew, before he drove off toward home. It wasn't until later he noticed Hargrove had only taken 300.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a sunny and calm day, and Billy was sitting on a picnic table by the basketball court on his street. There were four of them spread over a small area outside the court enclosure. They were all scratched and dirty, and people had carved hundreds of stupid things into every surface of them. He wasn't alone. There were a bunch of them sitting around, chatting and smoking. They were only smoking cigarettes, something that wasn't always the case, because two of the people there were off duty cops. There were some beers floating around, but that wasn't illegal as long as they were old enough. Billy had a beer, and a cigarette, and was feeling good in the sun. It had been a couple of weeks since he went to the movies with Harrington. He wondered if he'd be back, or if he had everything figured out now and was moving on. Billy knew the moving on would happen eventually. He was a whore, and not a boyfriend. Not even a friend, really. He himself had said he wouldn't do the buddy thing. It was just that he was sort of regretting he'd said that. Doing the buddy thing with Harrington might be just what his life needed. 

He was gently poked by an elbow.   
“You okay there, Billy?” It was Franklin, a big dude who lived in the same building as him. The guy was built like an orc, but he was one of those gentle pushovers who always got in trouble because they were just dumb enough to do stupid shit to be nice.   
“Huh?” Billy hadn't even noticed he'd drifted off. “Yeah, fine. Just thinking about work.”  
“You get a new job?” One of the cops, James, looked over at him from a conversation he was having with a teenager who was a good candidate to end up a criminal, if she wasn't steered onto a better road.   
“Nope, same one.” Billy shrugged and smiled at him. James was a genuinely good guy, who had taken an interest in Billy's life almost from the moment he met him.   
“Ain't you a whore, Billy?” asked a guy sitting at the next table.   
“What's your point?” Billy looked at him. He looked entirely too pleased with himself. Billy amicably flipped him the bird. He couldn't remember his name.   
“Not much to think about if your job is to fuck people for pay. Just get it up and go.” The guy wagged his middle finger at Billy in a way that was probably meant to simulate a dick getting an erection, but that only looked like he had a tic.   
“Billy's a boy whore, Jockie,” said his best friend, in a way that was irritatingly lecturing, “and that means he does it the other way around, so he doesn't even need to get it up. He just needs to bend over.”  
“Fuck you guys with the sharp end of a cactus.”  
There was general laughter. Billy didn't feel hurt by it. He wasn't the only whore sitting there, and they all knew it. It didn't have the same stigma in this area as in others, because it wasn't uncommon to be one.   
“Most cactuses don't have a sharp _end_. They're sharp all over.” Said some dude from another table.   
“Shouldn't that be cacti?” shouted someone from the end.   
Billy toned out the ensuing discussion about grammar and pluralizing. There weren't a lot of people on the street with an education, but there were some, and they all seemed to love discussing the finer points of bullshit. 

James came over and sat on the table next to Billy. The teenager has been taken over by the other cop, Bruce. Bruce was also a genuinely good guy, but Billy liked James more. He found it interesting how they insisted on first names instead of last names. Billy had been going by “Hargrove” most of his life before coming to the city, so at the start it was a little odd to just be Billy here. He still found it a little odd to call a cop by his first name. James nudged him with his shoulder.   
“Why are you still selling yourself, Billy?” It was said gently, and as if the two of them were the only ones present.  
“Is that a real question?” Billy turned so he could look at the other man properly. Disapprovingly.  
“You can do so much better, and you know it.” James brought this up at irregular intervals.   
“I don't share your faith in my abilities.” Billy was reminded of Harrington's rant the first time they met in the city, when he'd paid Billy for a blowjob.   
“You're too smart for this life, Billy.” James offered Billy a cigarette, then lit one himself.   
“I'm not as smart as you think I am.” Billy looked at the cigarette instead of lighting it. He spun it between thumb and forefinger and watched the name spin.   
“I think you're probably smarter than I think you are.”  
“That doesn't make sense.” Billy finally lit the cigarette and blew smoke into the air.   
“You're one of those guys who has the ability to be whatever they want, if they just put in the effort.” James blew smoke up in imitation of what Billy had just done. It was a gesture of companionship instead of mockery. “Why aren't you putting in the effort, Billy?”

Billy could probably give him many reasons why he wasn't putting in the effort. A big one would probably be questioning the point of putting in the effort. His life wasn't awesome, but things were okay. He was away from his psycho dad, he was around people who liked him, some of whom he liked back, and he'd mostly kicked his drug habit. Yeah, sure, he was selling his ass to just about anyone willing to pay for it, but shit could be worse.   
“I think we've had this conversation before.” Billy drank some of his beer and hoped that would be it.   
“You've never given me a good answer as to why you're not trying to do better for yourself. We're going to keep having this conversation until you do.”  
“What kind of answer would you accept?”  
“Let's see, how about “you're right, Officer James, I'll start doing my best right away”?” James did such a good job imitating him that even Billy was impressed by the similarity.   
“Yeah, that's gonna happen.” He couldn't help a chuckle, though he wasn't sure it was because it was funny or because it was the opposite.   
“I've been talking to some people,” James said, suddenly serious. “They can help you get an education, but you're going to have to want it.”  
“I don't see what good an education is gonna do me.” Billy shrugged, but he wasn't quite sincere in his show that it wasn't important.   
“You can go make money some other way than selling your ass for change.” James raised a pointed eyebrow at him.   
“Hey, I charge more than change.” Billy knew that wasn't the point at all, but he didn't know what else to say.  
“Barely!” shouted someone at the next table.   
“You wouldn't know, asshole! You're too ugly to sell to!” Billy shouted back.  
There was more laughter. Billy wanted the conversation to be over. 

James waited until the general joking around had died down, and then went back to focusing on Billy.   
“Don't you have anything you want to be? No dreams?”  
“No, not really.” Billy had small dreams, like having more than a few beers on a night off, or buying new clothes that weren't designed to draw customers with. Getting that great customer that changed everything, like in goddamned Pretty Woman, was one of those 'win the lottery' type dreams. The ones that you knew were never going to happen, but you had them anyway. He was extremely embarrassed to think in that direction, so he would die before admitting it to anyone, but a stupid little part of him dreamed of getting that customer. A tiny little voice in the back of his head suggested that customer might be Steve Harrington. Billy shut it down so fast and hard he nearly spoke out loud. James went on.  
“Did you ever have any dreams? When you were younger?”  
“You mean apart from dreaming about getting the hell away from my dad?” The venom was unwarranted, but he couldn't help it. He was annoyed, and feeling like a failure. But, he liked James, so he calmed himself and decided to be honest. “I used to want to play basketball professionally. That ship sailed long ago.”  
“You're good with the kids here, teaching them to play basketball and other things. Maybe you could be a coach.”  
“Yeah, because every sports team and school want to hire a dude with prostitution and drugs on his rap sheet to look after their kids and teach them sports.” Billy didn't add that the teaching the kids to play basketball thing had happened like three times the years he'd lived in the area, and all three times he'd been talked into it by someone else.   
“I'm not gonna deny you have a point, but there's always a chance if you want it.”  
“But I don't. I have no fucking clue what I want to do with my life.” Billy sighed, feeling even more like a failure. “I have such little clue what to do with my life I don't even feel the need to do something other than what I do now, because at least it's something I know how to do.”  
“I think you're scared of changing.” James gave challenging look. “The devil you know, and all that.”  
“I just don't _want_ to change.” Billy chose not to get riled up by the challenge. “I'm fine. You just don't like that I'm fine. You want me to 'be better', and I'm not, and eventually you're going to just have to deal with that and move on to someone who actually _is_ better.”  
“It's not either or, Billy. I can help more than one person at a time.”  
“I don't need your help, James.” He pointed to the teenager. “Nina over there needs your help.”  
“What's that supposed to mean?” Nina burst out immediately, having clearly paid more attention to their conversation than the one she was supposed to be having with Bruce.  
“It means you're a stupid bint who's going to end up doing what I'm doing unless you start getting smart.”  
“What? Sell my ass and get stoned on my days off?” She raised two fingers in the universal sign of 'up yours'.   
“Yes, Nina.” Billy gave her a look that was intended to tell her he was completely serious. He really wasn't kidding around. “That is exactly where you'll end up, only you'll get wired instead of stoned. Then you'll go looking for a better high, and you'll end up some fucking tweaker whore who'll do anything for another hit.”  
“Speaking from experience there, Billy boy?” It was Jockie, trying to be funny.   
“I was never a tweaker, but close enough.” Billy was serious enough about this to be honest about where his life had gone. He liked Nina. He didn't want her to end up like him. He looked back at her, and made sure she paid attention to him. “I was where you are now, only I didn't have two actually good guy cops looking out for me. Let them look out for you, and find you something better than this shithole and us assholes.” He waved a hand vaguely around to indicate all of them.   
There were no protests from anyone, even joking ones. Even Jockie got that this was a serious moment, and even Jockie got that theirs was not a life they wanted on the teenagers. The people who gathered here gathered because they weren't quite as large assholes as the people who were entirely cool with teenagers being criminals and whores. They were alcoholics, and drug addicts, and people who never seemed to get their life under control, but they weren't _that_ level of asshole. 

Nina looked serious herself. She looked thoughtful rather than angry, which was uncommon when given life advice. She usually had the attitude that other people were too stupid to understand her life and totally didn't get it, and fuck them for having the gall to tell her what to do. Billy recognized himself in her, only he'd been less of a bitch about it. At least that was what he wanted to think. He thought back to his teenage self, and all the rage that was bottled up inside him. If anyone had tried to tell him how to live his life he would have beat them. Anyone except his father. He'd been terrified of the man, and if he ran into him now he might still be terrified of him. He thought back to his short time in Hawkins, and for the first time it struck him that maybe he could have had an actually good guy cop to look out for him, had he been less angry, less scared, and less proud. He would never have gone to Chief Hopper for help, but if he had he thought maybe Hopper wouldn't have turned him away and told him to suck it up and stop being a faggot, like the irrational part of teenage Billy's mind had insisted he would. 

Further thought on the subject was effectively silenced by a stupid fucking Mercedes Billy knew rolling down the street. He cursed to himself and got up. Harrington was just too naive and stupid to be left to his own devices in this place. Harrington parked the car neatly at the curb and got out. He was wearing a stupid grin, and Billy quickly gave up telling himself he wasn't pleased as fuck to see him again.   
“Harrington, what are you doing bringing a Mercedes down this street? Do you want it to be stolen?”  
“Well, if it's legit stolen maybe I can get insurance money.” He looked thoughtful for a moment and then shrugged and grinned. “Dude, if I take my sunglasses out of it I halve the value of it. It's not that big a deal.”  
“That's only because your sunglasses are expensive as fuck.” Billy stopped and looked Harrington over. He was wearing dark blue jeans, black trainers, an ugly as hell pastel pink striped shirt, and a dark blue suit jacket. It all looked expensive. “Not to mention the rest of your outfit. Shit dude, you are so out of place here.”  
Harrington looked down at himself, oblivious.   
“I'm sort of on my way home from work. Gotta look presentable when you sell shit.” He went to the trunk of the car and opened it.   
“And you just happened to drive by?” Billy was almost at the car now, and did his best to sound like he was skeptical instead of thrilled.   
“Shit no, this is a detour.” Harrington pulled out a basketball. “And I brought this.” He threw it at Billy hard enough that the breath was almost knocked out of him on impact.   
“You came here to give me a present?”  
“I came here to see if you still got it. Because I do, and I'd be more than happy to kick your ass.”  
“In that?”  
“Yeah, no. This shirt wasn't cheap.” In a display of continued obliviousness Harrington stripped down to the t-shirt he had under the shirt. A Metallica one. “There, ready.”  
Billy made a mental note to introduce him to Manowar if he didn't already know them. He should already know them. They weren't some obscure garage band, after all.   
“You're just assuming I'll go along with this.”  
“It's that or I call you a coward. Up to you.” Harrington held out his hands in challenge and said it in such a matter of fact way that Billy wasn't sure if he should laugh or get pissy.   
“You know what, fuck you Harrington. You're going down.”  
The grin Billy got as a response gave him a second of thinking he would do just about anything for the man if he just grinned like that at him again. Just a second. 

As Hargrove led the way into the basketball enclosure Steve took a moment to try to appreciate just how fucking stupid he himself was, and how insane it was to show up where Hargrove lived unannounced, with a basketball. This was probably exactly why he hadn't given Steve his actual address; because Steve was a weirdo who did this kind of shit. Hargrove bounced the ball a couple of times, and then seemed to remember something. He walked over to the fence.   
“Oy, Jockie!”  
A burly bald guy looked at him, but said nothing. Hargrove pointed to Steve's car.   
“Make sure no one touches that.”  
The guy held up a thumb to say he would. Steve nodded thanks to the guy and then went to stand under the net. If Hargrove was anything like he'd been in Hawkins Steve was in for a battle. He still practiced basketball semi-regularly at a court near where he lived, but Hargrove had been an absolute beast on the court back then. Steve hadn't wanted to admit it, but he'd been thoroughly trounced. Now it was time to see if he could trounce him back. Hargrove bounced the ball a few times, and did that tongue thing that Steve was quickly becoming attracted to, and then he charged. 

Steve had thought the times he'd been with Hargrove had reminded him of how intense he could be, but that was nothing like facing him now. He felt like not only was all of Hargrove's attention focused on him, but that every muscle in his body was too. Everything Steve did was countered quickly. When he was two dunks behind in score he bucked up and fought back. He'd never be at a professional level, but he'd played a hell of a lot of one-on-one basketball since Hawkins, and he pulled on that experience now. It didn't take him too long to even out the score, but it was very far from effortless. They both threw taunts back and forth, played rough, and only barely kept on the good side of the rules. In only minutes they were both sweating and breathing hard, and Steve was sure he'd gained a couple of bruises he hadn't had this morning. And he was having the time of his fucking life. Judging by the stupid grin on Hargrove's face he was too. Steve snagged the ball and went in for an attack, and was knocked on his ass.   
“Fucking cheater.”  
“I seem to remember you never getting the hang of planting your feet. I see you still haven't learned.” Hargrove held out and hand to help him up. Steve took it with a grin.   
“Fuck you, Hargrove. You're just getting desperate.” Steve had managed to get three points ahead, and he was thrilled and proud.   
“I don't see anything to be desperate about.” He made a show of being unconcerned.  
“You're losing, asshole.”  
“Temporary setback. You have any cash on you?” Hargrove held out his hand like he was fully expecting to be given money.   
“Some. Why?” Steve mentally prepared to tell him to fuck off if he started saying something about wanting to get paid to play.   
“We need something to drink, and I'm broke.”  
“Mooch.” Steve fished a couple of loose bills out of his pocket, feeling relieved, and handed them over without really looking at what they were. He knew it wasn't much.   
Hargrove looked at them, went to the fence and wedged some in the chain link fence.  
“Could one of you assholes go buy us a couple of Gatorade or something?”  
“What's in it for us?” said a girl who looked far too young for the amount of tattoos she had.   
“The view.” Hargrove grinned and took off his shirt. He left the bill stuck in the fence.  
Steve looked at the defined and tanned muscles of the other man's torso, and tried to not think about what he'd done to that body the last time they met. Getting hard now would be very bad. Very bad indeed. He turned away and went to pick up the ball from the corner it had rolled to when he fell. 

Billy noticed Harrington looking his body over and was oddly pleased at the flash of lust he saw in his eyes before he turned to get the ball. As a whore he'd learned to recognize and exploit that look. He didn't want to exploit that one, except maybe to win the game. Winning a duel by using his body in creative ways wasn't cheating. Right? He waved a finger at Harrington to try to taunt him into taking his t-shirt off too. He'd promised the people a view, after all. Harrington gave him a look, but didn't waste much time in complying.   
“You can get to see all the bruises you just gave me forming.”  
“I'd have to see your ass for that.” Billy grinned cheekily.   
“Speaking of bruises, you've had an interesting time.” He indicated at Billy in much the same way he'd been asked to take his shirt off.   
Billy rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue. He knew there were several bruises on his torso, mostly on his back. All thanks to an overeager customer. He hadn't beaten Billy, but he'd been unnecessarily rough. Billy had tolerated it, both because the guy paid well, and because he wasn't the cruel type. He'd just gotten really fucking excited. It had been one of the few customers who wanted to get fucked instead of being the one doing the fucking, which was why most of the bruises were on his back. Excited fingers, thankfully with short cropped nails. He'd been able to stop the guy from biting him. Barely. 

They bounced the ball back and forth casually while waiting for their drinks. It was a hot day, but it was going on late autumn, and there was a chilly breeze that cooled the sweat on Steve's skin. Goose pimples broke out on his arms, and he could feel his nipples hardening. He took a moment to surreptitiously check if the same was happening to Hargrove. It was. Steve distracted himself from the sight by throwing the ball a little harder.   
“If we don't start playing again I'm going to freeze to death.”  
“Nipples starting to hurt?” Billy smirked and very obviously looked at Steve's chest.   
Steve went for the ball, and suddenly they were dueling again. They were just as rough now, and just for the hell of it Steve made a move to knock Hargrove on his ass in retaliation. He failed and got the mocking tongue as a response. It distracted him enough that Hargrove scored twice before he could recover. He was still ahead, but one more dunk by the other man would change that. He had to step it up and get serious. He tried, but failed at that too, as soon as Hargrove flashed him a grin that included tongue. He grinned back, and promptly had the ball stolen out of his hands. Hargrove made a shot, and missed. Steve threw his arms up in triumph as the girl shouted at Hargrove and entered the enclosure with two Gatorades in her hands, and a chocolate bar in her mouth. Hargrove hung his head in mock defeat, then went to get the drinks. 

Billy took one and then handed one to Harrington. He would have thrown it, but Gatorade came in glass bottles, and Harrington was tired. Billy was tired too, but he wouldn't admit that. He pointed to the chocolate bar.   
“Nina, who paid for the chocolate?”  
“You did. Or, your friend did.” She pointed at Harrington, who was currently downing half the bottle in one go. “I saw you get the money from him in the first place.”  
“So you stole from him?” Billy was distracted for a few seconds by the bobbing of Harrington's Adam's apple. He shook it off, figuratively. “And I was given that money. I didn't just take it.”   
“I prefer the term “got paid for doing a shopping trip”.” She held out a handful of coins. “I brought the change. I'm not a thief.”  
“Yes, you are.” He pointed towards the two off duty police officers. “That's why the police like talking to you.”  
“Well, at least I'm not a...” She stopped, looked over Billy's shoulder, then lowered her voice. “Does he know what you are?”   
Billy appreciated how considerate she was being.   
“Yeah, he knows.”  
“Is he one of your clients?” She narrowed her eyes at him.   
“Customers. He's a friend from where I used to live.” He wasn't about to tell her they'd hated each other's guts back then.   
“How come I've never seen him before?” Her eyes narrowed even more.   
“Because I don't tell you shit, and don't show you the people I know outside Crapville.” Billy took on a lecturing tone that he hoped was slightly annoying.   
“Okay. Good point.” She looked over his shoulder again, entirely un-annoyed. “He's hot.”  
“I know.” Billy couldn't agree more, and realized in that moment just how attracted he was to the other man.   
“You fuck him?” She looked weirdly hopeful. He couldn't understand why that would be.   
“None of your goddamn business.”  
“Would you mind if I fuck him?” She looked even more hopeful.   
“He doesn't swing your way.” Billy shrugged, pleased to disappoint her.   
“Well shit.” She kicked out her leg, like a kid who'd just been told they can't do something they really wanted to.   
“You'll live. Thanks for getting us the drinks.” He nodded in thanks.   
“Thank your friend for the chocolate.” She grinned cheekily.   
He returned the 'up yours' she'd flashed him earlier, and went over to Harrington, who was now sitting on the ground, looking happy. It did things to Billy that he didn't want to explore, but probably would later anyway. He went over and sat down too. 

Steve nudged Hargrove with his elbow. He got nudged back.   
“You know, Hargrove, I'm okay if you want to stop playing now.”  
“Call it a draw?”  
“No, I fucking won, and if we quit now you'll have to fucking deal with it.”  
“Then why would I want to stop?” Hargrove turned and leaned on his knee so he could look at Steve, and it seemed like he did it just so he could flash him a grin.   
“Because you're tired, sweaty, and bruised?” Steve realized with alarm he had been about to run a finger over Hargrove's chest do show the sweat, and managed to stop himself before doing more than lift his arm a little.   
“I obviously have better stamina than you. I can keep going easily.” Hargrove looked at Steve's arm and smirked. Steve felt like he'd just had his mind read.   
“Liar.”  
“Pansy.” Hargrove stuck out his tongue.   
Steve finished off the rest of his bottle and looked at it in the sunlight. It was a good distraction from looking too much at Hargrove. It did things to him to do that.  
“She called you Billy.”  
“What? Oh, everyone does that here.” He grinned. “You wanna call me Billy too?”  
“I think that might be weird. I've never known you as anything other than Hargrove.”  
“I feel the same way about Harrington.” Hargrove looked up at the sky. Steve stared a little too long at his exposed throat.   
“Then I guess we keep going as we have so far.” Steve looked away as soon as he saw Hargrove move his head to lower it.   
“With the paid sex too?” Hargrove grinned widely at him.   
Steve scoffed.   
“Maybe?” He raised and eyebrow and nudged Hargrove's knee with the finger that wanted to touch his chest earlier. “Will you give me discounts?”  
“Maybe?” Hargrove's hand shot out and he grabbed Steve's hand. He got up in one smooth motion while still holding onto Steve and pulled him up with him.   
Steve stumbled into him. They stood there chest against chest, with their clasped hands caught between them. Steve had a hand on Hargrove's shoulder, where he'd grabbed for support when he stumbled. Hargrove's free hand was on Steve's upper arm. They looked each other in the eyes. There was something there that made them both freeze and hold their breaths, like they were both scared even breathing would ruin it. Steve had an intense urge to kiss him, but he didn't. He wouldn't. He leaned closer anyway. 

A loud rude whistle from behind Billy brought him back to reality. He grinned, to hide how close he had just come to kissing Harrington in front of everyone he knew. Shit.   
“You alright there, Harrington?”  
“You're an asshole Hargrove.” He didn't move away.   
“Yeah.” Billy didn't move either, even though he knew he should.   
Some more whistles broke out.   
“Why don't you guys kiss already and get it over with?” someone shouted. Billy thought it might be Jockie's best buddy. He couldn't remember his name either.   
Harrington moved back a step, and Billy resisted the want to pull him back against him. This entire thing was getting fucked up. Then he found he didn't want it to not be fucked up, and that was fucked up too.  
“Hey, Hargrove?” Harrington looked completely serious. He looked like he was about to say something very important, that Billy might not like.   
“Yeah?” Billy braced himself for whatever was coming next. He expected something along the lines of them not seeing each other again after today.   
“You still want to go to the car wash with me sometime?” He grinned and took another step back, without letting go of Billy's hand.   
Billy grinned widely, more relieved than he would have admitted to.   
“Yeah, I do.”   
They let go of each other at the same time. Harrington went and picked up his t-shirt and the ball. Billy picked up his own t-shirt, and followed him to the car. They didn't say anything more until Harrington was ready to leave. He leaned on his open car door before getting in, grinned at Billy, and bit the left side of his lower lip before talking. Billy's stomach did things, and he wanted to get in the car with him.   
“See you around, Hargrove.”  
“You know where to find me.” Billy grinned back and waved.   
Harrington got in the car and drove off. Billy went back to the tables. 

Nina leaned on the table, next to where James was still sitting.   
“That your boyfriend, Billy?” Nina had that cheeky grin that looked like she'd learned it from Billy.   
“I told you, he's a friend from where I used to live.”  
“Looked like more than a friend to me, “ she said in a little singsong voice.  
“Then maybe you need to have your eyes checked.”  
“Looked like more than a friend to the rest of us too.” Franklin smiled, looking happy he could join in on some friendly ribbing.   
“Jesus Christ.” Billy looked skyward, as if looking for strength. He didn't need it. He wasn't particularly upset. He just didn't want them to know how close they were to the mark. Not that he and Harrington would ever be boyfriends. “We used to be the top basketball players at school. He came to see if he could beat me now that we're older, because he couldn't when we were younger. That's all there is to it.”  
“Did you let him win to be nice to him?” Franklin sounded genuinely curious now.   
“Fuck no. I ain't that nice.” Billy grinned. “Fucker's gotta earn that shit.”  
“Did he?” Jockie's friend looked genuinely curious too.  
“Yeah. He's definitely gotten better.” He shrugged. “Was fun, though.”  
“Yeah, you looked like you were really enjoying yourself.” James, as usual, didn't join in on the riling. He sounded like he meant it.   
“'Specially when you were about to kiss him.” Jockie's friend licked the air in what Billy presumed was an attempt to simulate tongue kissing. He looked like a dog with peanut butter stuck to the roof of its mouth.   
“I was _not_ about to kiss him. Asshole.”  
“Could have fooled me.” Jockie was a loyal friend and backed up his buddy, so he joined in on the peanut butter licking.   
“Fuck you guys.” Billy couldn't keep a straight face when looking at the two morons. He looked at his watch. “Time for me get moving. See you guys around.”  
“You off to work?” James had an understanding look, though Billy knew he wasn't happy about the thought of anyone selling cheap sex for a living.   
“Yup. Gotta earn some money. Me and Jaqueline are supposed to go shopping tomorrow, and right now I'm flat broke.” All the money he had was what Harrington had given him today for drinks, that he had honestly forgotten to give back. He'd keep hold of it so he could give it back later. Harrington was a person he absolutely refused to steal from.   
“Should have gotten your boyfriend to give you more money.” Nina poked at his arm.   
“You're assuming he has money.”  
“He drives a Mercedes.”  
“That Mercedes has more issues than you do.” He pointed at Nina. “And just so we're perfectly clear on this, he's _not_ my boyfriend.”  
“Whatever you say, Billy.” She gave him the grin again. He sort of liked that grin.   
He waved a general goodbye and went home to change. Even if his evening turned out shitty, this day would still be counted as damn good in his book. Harrington had seen to that.


	6. Chapter 6

Steve was nervous, and excited, and felt crazy, and wondered what the fuck he thought he was doing. All at the same time. He was jittery, and felt a need to get stoned. So it was a good thing he had weed on him, and was on his way to try to find Hargrove, so they could have their car wash 'date'. They hadn't agreed on anything the last time they met, and he didn't have Hargrove's phone number or home address, so he had no idea if he'd even find the man today. He'd snuck off work a little early, so he was hoping Hargrove at least hadn't left for work yet. It was a little weird thinking about what Hargrove did as work, but really that was exactly what it was. It was the kind of work Steve would never be able to do. Then again, there were many things he'd thought he'd never do, and fucking Billy Hargrove probably belonged high up on that list. Paying to fuck Billy Hargrove was so far off the plantation he couldn't even consider it as an entry for the list to begin with. And yet, he had, and here he was looking for him to get stoned with in a fucking car wash, while doing dirty things, and life couldn't be better, or weirder. 

He found him in almost the exact spot he'd been in the last time he came looking for him. Hanging out with a group of people at, and on, some picnic tables by the basketball court. Steve was happy to see Hargrove like that. Smiling and talking with other people. He had friends. It was a completely different Hargrove from the one Steve had known in Hawkins. That Hargrove had always been angry and destructive, even when he was smiling. Steve didn't have any friends outside work. He'd never bothered getting any. Sometimes he'd grab a beer with some of the people he worked with, and sometimes a group of them would hang out, but he wouldn't count any of them as friends. Same with the people he played basketball with. Outside the court they never spent time together. Maybe he was just picky about who to apply the title to. Maybe he was too picky, but picky or not, he wanted to count Hargrove as a friend. He knew it was stupid to want it. He'd already been told it wouldn't happen, by the man himself. Steve pointedly ignored the little voice that suggested he wanted more than friendship with Hargrove, because that was even more stupid, and ridiculous, and would definitely absolutely never happen. He parked where he'd parked last time and got out of the car. He didn't walk over, but Hargrove saw him almost immediately. 

Billy noticed Harrington's car before it was halfway down the street. He knew it was Harrington's car, because he was the only one dumb enough to drive down a street like this in a car like that. That weird wannabe peace sign sticking out the front of it was a magnet to unsavory people who wanted to make a buck. He wondered what Harrington wanted this time. He hoped today was the day for the car wash. He wondered exactly how much Harrington was screwing up his head, considering he was hoping for a thing that might entail Billy putting a dick in his mouth for free. He'd never sucked someone off for free in his life, and here he was looking forward to it. Fucking weirdo. When the car stopped Billy pretended he hadn't seen it, until Harrington exited it. When he did Billy waved bye to the people at the tables and hurried over, in case the guy wanted to come meet his friends. He wouldn't put it past the idiot.  
“Hey, Harrington. What brings you to Crapville?”  
“My car's dirty, and there's this plant material I need to get rid of.” He smirked.  
“I see.”  
“Know anyone who might be able to help me with that?” The smirk turned into a grin.  
“As a matter of fact, I do.” Billy leaned his elbows on the roof of Harrington's car. “He just needs to grab a couple of things from his apartment first.”  
“Should I drive him there, or wait in the car?” He mimicked Billy's stance.  
“You're not asking to come up to see my place?” Billy sort of wanted to show Harrington where he lived, but also sort of not.  
“I'll wait for an invite.” He shrugged.  
“My roommates are home, so some other time. You can wait in the car. It's just across the street.”  
“Cool.”  
Harrington sat back in the car and lit a cigarette, while Billy jogged across the street to his apartment. There wasn't much to pick up. He just wanted to clean up a little. 

While he waited Steve took a moment to enjoy the fact he had said “some other time” instead of “not happening”. It gave him some hope that Hargrove would be willing to hang out with him more. Steve knew he could pay to fuck him at any time, but it had become important to him at some point that Hargrove liked him. He wasn't hoping Hargrove would give him free sex or anything like that. He was just hoping they eventually could do shit like watch a movie together without Steve paying for his company. He hoped their outing today was one he didn't have to pay for, other than the weed and the car wash. And snacks. He'd already bought some, but he didn't know what Hargrove liked, other than Mars chocolate. He'd gotten a couple of those. He also hoped they'd do something more than just get stoned in a car wash. It seemed like such a short outing to just do that and go home. Though, the car wash he'd found was notorious for being the slowest motherfucker in the city. It was old and worn out, and the owners didn't give a shit. It also didn't really clean your car. At this point Steve was sure all their income came from people who liked doing things they weren't supposed to in the car during the washing process. Just like him. It remained to be seen how dirty those things were going to be. Hopefully very dirty. Steve had to readjust his pants a little, because his imagination had made them tight one place in particular. He really should get that under control before Hargrove came back. 

It took Billy too long to decide what to wear. He was embarrassed that he didn't either just wear what he'd been wearing or grab something easily available. Shit, it was like he wanted to impress Harrington or something. He gave up and called for his roommate.  
“Jaqueline, are you home?”  
“'Course I am, sugar. What do you need?” She was immediately at his door. She practically filled the entire door frame.  
“I need something hot to wear I can give a car blowjob in, that's not for work.” He pointed at his stuffed closet. “Can you fix that for me while I have a very quick shower?”  
“What do you mean not for work?” She crossed her arms and took on a 'don't mess with me' stance. “Honey, is there something you wanna tell me?”  
“Shower, then talk.”  
“Okay, but don't think you're gonna get out of telling Jaqueline why you're thinking of giving away a free BJ.” She walked to his closet and started pulling out clothes.  
Billy had probably the quickest shower of his life. He made sure to not get his hair wet, because he didn't want Harrington to know he'd showered. 

When he got out, wrapped in only a towel, he found two sets of clothes laid out on the bed for him. He'd learned early that pulling customers was easier when he was well dressed, so he'd used that as an excuse to amass far too many items of clothing, and shoes. Jaqueline pointed.  
“You can wear _that_ if you wanna look like you want it, and _that_ if you don't wanna look like you want it. Just 'cause you wanna suck some guy's dick doesn't mean you have to look like you're droolin' for it.”  
Billy went for the clothes indicated as not looking like he wanted it. She sat on the bed while he started getting dressed, starting with faded black jeans, and looked impatient. He knew she wanted an explanation.  
“Look, sweetheart, I'm not saying I'm actually going to give the guy a blowjob. Just so we're clear on that.”  
“Mhm.” Her tone was managed to convey skepticism and disapproval at the same time. “Go on.”  
“I don't have anything more.” He pulled a black tight t-shirt over his head. It would look casual, while showing off his muscle definition.  
“Bullshit. You said _the_ guy and not _a_ guy. You like someone. You like him enough that you're thinking of doing sex things for fun instead of pay.” Her sassy accent momentarily disappeared. She was being serious now. Some day he was sure the accent would stay even then.  
“There will be sort of pay.” Billy was grasping at straws. He wasn't sure he wanted to admit he'd started feeling funny things around Harrington, to himself as much as her.  
“Sort of?”  
“We're going to a car wash to get stoned, and he's paying for everything. I get to get stoned for free.” He shrugged while pulling on the boots she'd picked out.  
“You need to make up your mind. Either you get stoned for free and do sex stuff for fun, or you do hooker stuff and get paid in marijuana. Which one is it?”  
He hesitated. He found he had issues with the “sex stuff for fun” part of it. Was he really thinking of giving Harrington a BJ just because he wanted to suck him off? Because it was Harrington? Did he actually fucking _want_ to have Harrington's dick in his mouth? As he pulled on his faded dark brown leather jacket he realized the answer was yes. Yes, he did, in fact, want to have Harrington's dick in his mouth, and he wanted to make the man come. He wanted Harrington to fall apart under his tongue and come in his mouth. For no pay at all. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to accept the fact he was probably already fucked. He wasn't sure he could do that yet.  
“It's the first one. I'm going to a damn car wash with the guy because I want to have fun. No work. No pay. Just fun.”  
“Is the sex thing a necessary part of it?”  
“I promised him a handjob in return for weed, but that can easily be passed off as joking around.” He shrugged and pulled on a pair of combat boots. He didn't tighten the laces.  
“Do you want to pass it off as that?”  
“No.” He sat down next to her for a moment. “And I guess that's the thing.”  
“Mhm.” This one held only support.  
“I don't know what to do about it.”  
“You're a smart cookie, honey. You'll figure it out.” The accent was back. She got up and pulled him into a hug. “When are you meeting him?”  
“He's outside waiting.”  
“You motherfucker.” She pushed him away from her toward the door. “You can't keep people waiting like that.”  
“He's fine. He can handle it.”  
“Doesn't matter what he can handle. You don't keep a man waiting, especially when there's sex stuff involved.”  
“Words to live by.” He grinned at her and kissed her cheek. “See ya, babe.”  
He took the stairs down two at a time. He was starting to feel excited, and it was weird. He supposed there was nothing for it but to roll with it, and try to avoid Harrington finding out. 

Steve was glad Hargrove had to cross the street before getting to the car, because it gave him a chance to process what he was wearing, so he could stop drooling in time. Fuck, the guy looked magnificent, in a scruffy bad boy kind of way. Billy Hargrove had the bad boy look down to perfection. He'd rocked that look for as long as Steve had known him. Steve was the preppy boy who liked parties. Hargrove was the classic bad boy all the girls fainted over. Except girls like Nancy Wheeler. Apparently Steve was no better than the girls, because he could easily faint over bad boy Billy Hargrove too. His heart had already sped up, and the man hadn't even finished crossing the street. Steve took a deep breath, lit a cigarette, and tried to look bored when the other man got in. Hargrove plonked down in the passenger seat and lit his own cig.  
“Took you long enough.”  
“Had to rub one out before going. You were looking too good.” He waggled his tongue at Steve.  
Steve scoffed and started the car. He knew Hargrove was only joking, but thought it sort of was a compliment anyway.  
“So where are we going, pretty boy?”  
“To the crappiest car wash in the city. You'll love it.” He purposefully drove past the people by the tables, to see what the other man would do.  
“You know what? I think you're right.” Hargrove grinned at Steve, and completely ignored everything outside the car. 

It was a 20 minute drive to the car wash. Billy spent a while listening to the various clunks, ticks, rumbles, and rattles in the car; trying to identify what they were. He'd fixed a decent share of cars in his time. He'd even once considered becoming a mechanic. He wasn't entirely sure why he'd changed his mind about that. Maybe some day he'd change his mind back. The car he was in now definitely needed fixing.  
“Harrington, how the fuck can you drive around in this noisy fucker and not worry it's going to blow up under your ass?” He demonstratively plucked a knob off the radio. “You don't even have a working stereo to drown out the noise.”  
“Guess I'm just used to it.” He took the knob back from Billy and tried to put it back in place. After a couple of attempts he gave it back so Billy could do it. “And hey, even though it's an old car it at least has a cassette player.”  
“One that isn't working. Some morning I'm gonna show up where you work or something with a toolbox, and tinker until you're done for the day.” Putting the knob back on was harder than taking it off, but he eventually got it to fit.  
“You'd have to first find out where I work.”  
“I'll get it out of you while you're stoned.” Billy opened the glove box to see if that was where the weed was stashed. It wasn't. He kept digging around anyway.  
“Maybe I shouldn't get stoned, then.”  
“Do you want to not get stoned?” All the way at the back there was a small stack of what looked like business cards. Billy snuck one up his sleeve for later perusing. If he was lucky it had the info he needed on it.  
“Fuck no.” The threw a cheeky grin and a glance at Billy. “And I also want that handjob while I am.”  
“You're such a pervert, Harrington.” Billy wasn't about to start complaining about that. He was already enjoying pervert Harrington, and he had a hope they'd only just started. He just wouldn't tell Harrington that.  
“Maybe it's because of you. I wasn't a pervert until I met you.”  
“I might ask Nancy about that.”  
“Me and Nancy only ever had nice gentle lovemaking.” He said it in a way that hinted at hurt feelings and disappointment.  
“Frankly, that sounds like something you'd only half enjoy.”  
“Frankly, compared to fucking you, I think that's probably accurate.” He nodded and grinned, and the hints were gone.  
“A guy who likes playing rough should be allowed to play rough.”  
“At least sometimes.”  
Billy wanted to poke fun at Harrington for the qualifier, but he let it slide.  
“You don't have any fantasies about gentle lovemaking with a man?” Billy surreptitiously looked at the card up his sleeve. It wasn't Harrington's. Damn it. He just as surreptitiously put the card in one of the little holders set into the door on his side.  
“I haven't really thought about it. And anyway, it's not something I'd pay to pretend I was experiencing. It would have to be the real deal.”  
“I agree with you there. I've never experienced it, but I've wondered a few times what it might be like.” Billy thought about how much he liked being pounded into by Harrington. “Maybe not the gentle part.”  
“I guess we'll both experience it at some point. At least I hope. It would be sad if two hot guys like us never ended up in a loving relationship. I don't mean with each other.” The last bit was said in a hurry.  
“Yeah, but we're assholes, and that screws the equation.”  
Harrington snorted in amusement. 

The car wash, when they arrived at it, loomed like a rusty haunted house in an abandoned amusement park. It looked ready to fall apart. There was someone in it already, and the hissing, whirring, and clanking coming from inside made Steve worry for the safety of his car. There was sheet metal siding, pretending to be windows, set into a concrete frame. Occasionally sprays of water were spit out from the seams in the siding. Everything was spray painted in unrecognizable patterns and colors by countless taggers looking to cover each others' art with their own, over and over. It was a monster, and they were going in it. They just had to wait probably 20 minutes for the car already in it to finish. Steve parked by the entrance and turned off the car. He reached into the back seat to get the little box he had his 'kit' in. It sounded and looked fancier than it was. It was a pretty purple gift box with a sparkly bow containing four spliffs, four joints, a really ugly Jamaica colored glass pipe that had been given to him and that he thought was a sex toy at first, some weed in a bag, and a little bit of hash. He was prepared for any eventuality, except a cop wanting to look in the box.  
“Jesus Christ, Harrington. You think you have enough for the two of us?”  
“Screw off, I didn't know what you like.”  
“So you just brought everything?”  
“Something like that. I like being prepared. I have a cool bong at home, but it's a little too big to reasonably take anywhere.”  
“Shit, now I wanna come over to your place.”  
“Maybe next time.” He handed the box over to Hargrove, who immediately took out the pipe.  
“Should we start right away?” Even while asking he was getting it ready.  
“Sure. I'm happy to get a high going while we wait for this thing to spit out the pieces of the previous car.” Steve eyed the thing dubiously. He'd been the one to choose it, but he still wasn't sure it was a good idea to put his car through it.  
“Why did you choose this one? It looks like a leftover from an accident in Russia during the Cold War.”  
“Because it takes fucking half an hour for a car to go through it, and you can't see in. It's perfect. Sort of.”  
“By the sound of it we won't be able to do any talking in there. What's the point of getting high if you can't talk?”  
“I can think of something else you can do with your mouth, if you want something to occupy it while we're in there.” He suggestively looked down at his lap. Fuck, if Steve didn't absolutely love being able to talk like this to someone. To just be able to voice his dirty thoughts without concern.  
“You know, Harrington, you just might get your wish.” He took a hit from the pipe so deep Steve half expected the smoke to come out his ass, then held it in long enough that Steve found it both a little excessive and a little impressive. He talked as he exhaled. “No promises, though.”  
Steve took the pipe from him and took his own hit. In his usual, if maybe slightly odd, fashion he pulled in until he almost coughed, then held until he almost coughed again, then just let it slowly drift out of his mouth as he exhaled. The familiar initial buzz hit almost immediately. 

They spent the time waiting mostly just smoking in silence, passing the pipe back and forth. He was well fuzzed out by the time the gate of hell opened to let them in. He watched Harrington hurry out to start up the contraption while trying to not let air out of the car. Billy was impressed the ancient clunky thing was automatic and didn't need some asshole to sit and pull a lever, and mix soap. Harrington hopped back in the car, and quickly drove to the indicated spot. He then proceeded to completely ignore the car in favor of Billy and the pipe. Billy liked the attention, even if he did have to share it with a pipe.  
“You know, Harrington, about the only thing that could make this better right now is that bong you mentioned earlier. And maybe chocolate.”  
“I never knew you had such a sweet tooth. Yeah, bongs are great, but they're not exactly something you bring with you in a car. Unless you strap it in gently with a seat belt you're gonna get bong water all over the place.” He made splashing movements with his hands and then shivered in disgust. “Ew.”  
“You make a good point.”  
“Also, the one I have is not only big but was also way too expensive for me to want to risk breaking it. It's this fancy blue glass thing that I can pass off as a vase if I put it at the right angle on my bookshelf.” Harrington showed off the approximate size of the thing with his hands. It was impressive.  
“You have a bookshelf?” Billy couldn't help the jab. It was too easy.  
“Fuck off.” Steve snickered while he said it.  
“I want to come over to your place and just hog the thing for an entire evening.” Billy air hugged an imaginary bong.  
“Billy and the bong, huh? Like some softcore porno movie.”  
“Billy and the dong would be better, if it's porn.”  
They both had a good chuckle at the exchange of gloriously intellectual humor. 

A hit from the pipe later it struck Billy that Billy and the Bong would make a good band name. He tried to think of an equivalent to Billy and the Bong using the name Steve, but drew a blank.  
“Hey, Harrington.”  
The man in question made listening gestures with one hand while his other hand and his mouth were occupied with the pipe.  
“If you had a band with your name in the band name, what would it be called?”  
It took a moment for him to reply, given that he had to start breathing again first.  
“You have an example?”  
“Billy and the Bong.”  
“That's a good name.” He snickered again and made a show of thinking. “Steve and the... fuck, my name's hard.”  
“Steve and the Perverts. That'll make you hard.”  
They both laughed more than the joke warranted. Billy felt good. He was very high right now, and thought he should probably lay off the weed for a bit. He watched Harrington put the pipe on the dashboard; apparently thinking the same. 

The machine started, and as Hargrove has predicted, hearing each other talk became near impossible. They looked at each other and grinned. Steve didn't waste time. They were on the clock, after all. The car wash was horribly slow, but it wouldn't run forever. He 'suggestively' undid his pants and looked over at the other man. Even though he couldn't hear him Steve could clearly tell Hargrove was laughing at him. He could also clearly tell it was a good natured laugh. Then his expression changed to something that made Steve hard and a little nervous at the same time. It was this intense look, that Steve was a little impressed he managed, given how fucked up they both were at the moment. Steve was relatively sure he wouldn't be able to express anything more complex than lost, giggling, or horny right now. Mixing the three definitely wouldn't be happening. Hargrove clearly didn't have that issue, because he looked damn near predatory as he leaned over and put a hand on Steve's groin. Steve let himself make whatever sound he felt like, because he couldn't be heard. When Hargrove pulled Steve's cock out of his pants and gripped it firmly Steve moaned freely. Then, without warning, Hargrove bent down and sucked the head of the cock into his mouth with one firm suck. Steve alternated between cursing, moaning, and whimpering. He was sure he was going to come in an embarrassingly short amount of time. He was also almost sure he didn't mind. 

Billy found a solution to not hearing how Harrington was reacting to what he was doing. He put his hand against Harrington's throat. He didn't squeeze, just held his hand there so he could feel the vibrations and movements from it when Harrington made sounds. There was a lot of activity there. He sucked when he moved down the dick to get more of it in his mouth, and then sucked even more firmly on the upward pull. The effect was a constant but alternating pressure that obviously was driving Harrington crazy. His head was grabbed and he was pushed down on the dick probably a little more roughly than Harrington intended. Billy didn't mind. In fact, he enjoyed the lack of control he had for those seconds each time it was done to him. Harrington moved his free hand up under Billy's shirt; kneading the flesh hard where he could reach. He did it in time with Billy's movements, like he wasn't aware he was doing it and was just reacting. Billy was getting hard. He was perfectly okay with getting hard. He might even try to convince Harrington to give him a hand job. In fact, he was going to do that right now. He managed to undo his pants with one hand, and then he moved around until he was sure Harrington could reach. He grabbed the hand that was groping him and moved it to his crotch. Harrington got the idea immediately and shoved his hand into Billy's underwear. Billy groaned around the dick in his mouth when his own dick was grabbed and squeezed. The vibrations from Billy's groan must have done good things to the other man, because both his hands jerked and tightened their hold. Billy's dick was squeezed a little harder than was comfortable for a couple of seconds, and he loved it. He wondered how hard Harrington would squeeze his dick when he came. He decided to find out, and put his attention back on making the other man come fast and hard. 

The fact Hargrove clearly wanted him to jerk him off made Steve almost come just from thinking about it. Hargrove wasn't on the clock. He was hard, and enjoying it, and wanted it, and god if that wasn't the hottest thing ever. Then Hargrove groaned around his cock and Steve really nearly lost it. He tried to focus on jacking the other man off, in the hopes of maybe not coming immediately, but it wasn't working. It didn't matter that he wanted to feel what Hargrove did to his cock while having an orgasm, because Steve was definitely going to be the one to come first. He made a valiant effort at giving as good as he got, but it was a lost cause. His orgasm was already heating up his body and pooling tension in his groin. Hargrove's mouth was so damn talented, and the hand that had been gently rubbing at Steve's balls for a while suddenly squeezed. It wasn't a hard squeeze, but it was the catalyst that made Steve lose it. Without even getting the chance to warn Hargrove he came in his mouth violently. He felt him jerk in surprise, but Steve's hand was clamped down on his head, so he couldn't move away. Steve didn't know how long his orgasm lasted. He was stoned enough that he couldn't keep track of time to begin with, and in the middle of coming he definitely had no idea. It was white hot pleasure and tense shudders, until he slowly became aware he was holding both Hargrove's head and his cock too hard. He became instantly worried he'd put the main in pain, and was about to apologize in a panic, but then the cock in his hand started pulsing. He felt warm liquid spill over his fingers. The hand that had been on Steve's balls grabbed his thigh hard. He felt Hargrove groan, probably loudly, even as he was still swallowing around the cock still in his mouth. Even though Steve couldn't hear him, and their position made it so he also couldn't properly see him, it was obvious he was in the middle of a proper orgasm. Steve had made him come without being aware of it, and it was mind blowing. It was so mind blowing he almost felt like he could come all over again. Hargrove half collapsed on his lap and just lay there. Steve used his free hand to stroke his hair. He didn't know why. It just seemed like the right thing to do. His other hand had semen all over it. He lifted it to look at it. It looked gooey. Any thoughts he might have entertained about tasting it disappeared when he studied the whitish half-transparent slimy gunk. It looked disgusting. So he ended up just sitting there with it cooling and going sticky on his hand. He'd find somewhere to wipe it off after Hargrove got up. He wasn't in a hurry. 

Billy looked at the dick he'd just been sucking, and wasn't sure if he should feel great, embarrassed, or worried. Sure, coming was great and all, but the way he had come was something else. When Harrington came he'd clamped down with both hands, and it had fucking hurt, and Billy had come like a fucking teenager. What the fuck was wrong with him? He could blame it on being high, but he knew that couldn't be all of it. He'd had casual sex while high before, and while it had been great, it hadn't had this effect on him. It was flat out troubling how quickly, and intensely, he'd blown his load. He might blame it on the weed anyway, and hope Harrington bought it. He didn't know how Billy reacted to weed, so it might fly. He did not want to have a conversation about him potentially being a pain slut. No fucking way. First of all he wasn't one, and second of all he would sure as fuck not talk to Harrington about it even if he was. The whole idea was ridiculous from one end to the other. 

He sat up and forced himself to look Harrington straight in the face. The guy looked stoned, and blissful, and if Billy was to be honest the combination made him look beautiful. Of course, that might be because Billy was also stoned, and mostly still in his own afterglow. He noticed Harrington was holding his right hand awkwardly, and a closer inspection showed it had jizz all over it. He laughed and looked around the car for something to wipe it with. Harrington gave him a sheepish look and then gave his own hand a mildly disgusted one. Billy couldn't blame him. He considered licking it off his hand just to see what he'd do, but that would probably just be gross for everyone involved. He had nothing against swallowing another man's semen, but cold sticky jizz was not the same thing at all. He found a bag in the back seat. It had water, tissues, soda, and random snacks. Harrington coming all prepared again. Billy loved it. He poured some water on a couple of tissues and handed them over. Harrington nodded in thanks and started wiping his hand clean. Billy wet some more tissues and wiped himself off, first his mouth and then his dick. He tucked himself back in and zipped up. Then he drank some water from the bottle and offered it to the other man. Harrington drank some too and handed it back. They looked at each other and grinned. Billy looked in the bag again and found a couple of Mars bars. This trip just kept getting better. He pulled one out and chewed off a piece almost before opening it. It was so good he barely noticed the bag disappearing from his lap. 

Seeing Hargrove tear into the chocolate made Steve want to make some cheesy comment about sucking cock, but then he remembered chewing was definitely not something you wanted to do while sucking cock, and the man had had Steve's cock in his mouth up until a few moments ago anyway. He also remembered they still couldn't hear each other. Funny how he could forget that with the racket still going on around them. He wondered how many dents his car had gotten while they'd been otherwise occupied. He found didn't really care. Any dents or scrapes would be completely worth this trip. Not that the car had been in pristine condition on the outside to begin with. He found a Snickers bar in the bag, but he didn't open it right away. Instead he grabbed the pipe and readied it for more action. He wouldn't have a lot. He just wanted to top off, so to speak. As soon as he lit up Hargrove reached out his hands for it. Steve gave him the finger and turned away. Just as he'd inhaled everything he was intending to, a hand grabbed his crotch again and he coughed it all back out in a rush. He looked over at Hargrove, who grinned and grabbed the pipe. Steve hit him on the head with the Snickers. Hargrove ignored him and took a hit. At just the right time Steve grabbed his crotch and squeezed. Hargrove's reaction was the same as Steve's. They looked at each other, and then spent the next couple of minutes laughing uncontrollably. Steve was feeling awesome. 

Everything felt silent around them. They both looked around in confusion. It was like they'd both forgotten where they were. Billy quickly stole another hit from the pipe and handed it over to Harrington, who did the same. When they were breathing again Billy took it back. He didn't light up again.  
“Pack that shit away, would you?” Harrington waved in the general direction of the box and its contents. He started the car when the door on the other end opened.  
“You got it, hot stuff.” Billy carefully put everything back in the box, minus two joints that he pocketed. He was sure Harrington wouldn't mind. It wasn't like he wouldn't notice later.  
“If anyone's hot stuff in here, it's you.”  
“Then you can be pretty boy.” Billy tried to make it sound unimportant. He did absolutely think Harrington was pretty, but would definitely never admit to the other man how much he enjoyed being called hot stuff by him. He knew he had looks on his side, but hearing it like that from Harrington did funny things to him.  
“I can live with that trade.” He had a look of great concentration on his face as he started driving.  
“So, can I light a normal cigarette in here, pretty boy?” Billy had one out before even finishing his sentence.  
“Sure. We should probably air out and then get a different smell in here anyway.” He rolled his window down while talking, letting in cold air and more importantly letting out air that smelled like something distinctly more illegal. “You know, just in case.”  
“Even if it's ashtray smell?” Billy remembered him saying something about how smoking made his car smell bad.  
“Even that. Maybe next time you should put on cologne at the levels you did as a teenager.” Harrington grinned cheekily.  
“I wasn't that bad.” Billy was almost certain he had indeed been that bad.  
“Girls would sniff the air like bloodhounds when trying to find you.” Harrington did a few sniffs to demonstrate.  
Billy snickered. 

As he drove out of the car wash Steve realized he had neglected to take something into account when planning this little outing. Driving while stoned afterwards. He wanted to be a responsible driver, and right now he absolutely wasn't. He should find somewhere to park for a while while things wore off a little. He hoped Hargrove didn't want to go home immediately. He remembered seeing a park nearby.  
“Hey, Hargrove. Wanna go have a walk in the park?”  
“The fuck? Why?”  
“Because I might be too stoned to drive back without killing someone.” Steve bit his lip in embarrassment. He felt like an idiot.  
“I can drive.” Hargrove sounded eager. Maybe a little too eager for Steve's taste right now.  
“Dude, I've seen you drive. You might kill someone while sober.”  
“I'm a better and more sensible driver now.” He grinned in a way that didn't give Steve any confidence at all. “I promise.”  
“You're also as stoned as I am.” Steve quickly looked over to the other man, and he showed plenty of signs of being fucked up.  
Hargrove fell silent. Steve drove toward where he thought he remembered the park was.  
“Okay yeah, let's go to the park.” Hargrove nodded and sounded sensible. “No promises about walking. And then I can drive back, because I already feel mostly fine to drive.”  
“Okay. Sounds good. I just need to remember where the fucking park is.” It wasn't dark outside yet, and wouldn't be for a while, but Steve's non-clear state made things difficult.  
“I see some trees over there. Try there.” He pointed slightly to the right of their current direction. 

Billy decided to properly look through the business cards in the glove box. Maybe one of them belonged to Harrington. He pulled out the small stack and started flipping through it.  
“Fuck are you doing, Hargrove?”  
“Trying to find your business card, so I'll know where you work.”  
“You won't find it there. That's my collection of cards other people have given me.” He rolled up his window just long enough to light a cigarette. “The ones I don't really care about. The ones I care about are in my desk at work.”  
“Well shit. Where do you keep yours?” Billy quickly leaned over and snatched the cigarette from Harrington's mouth. He quickly stole a drag from it. “You gotta have them.”  
“You fucker, give that back!” He held out his hand and Billy obediently handed the cigarette back, only he put it back in Harrington's mouth instead of his hand. Harrington continued speaking after taking it back out. “I'm in sales, of course I have them.”  
“So?” Billy let his tone indicate he was expecting a continuation to that sentence.  
“You're not going to give up on this, are you?”  
“Not a chance.”  
“Fine. My wallet is in there.” He pointed to the glove box. “There are a some in it.”  
“Why do you have your wallet in the glove box? You did at the movies too, but you had your money in your pocket.” Billy hurried to open the wallet before Harrington changed his mind. The cards were easy to find. He took two, just in case. “It's weird, is all.”  
“I had _some_ money in my pocket. Not all of it. And it's because it's a literal pain in the ass to have it in my back pocket when I drive. And pulling it out if I just want a snack or something is annoying.”  
“Wear a jacket with an inner pocket.” Billy studied one of the business cards intently while he talked. It looked very professional. “Or, you know, pockets in general.”  
“When I wear a jacket with an inner pocket I don't have the wallet in the glove box.” His tone said he thought this should be completely obvious.  
“You know, I always thought Steve was short for something.” Billy was still looking at the card. “Like Stephen or something. Just says Steve Harrington here.”  
“Yup, it's just Steve. Does that mean Billy is short for something? William?”  
“Ew.” Billy shivered at the thought. “If my name was William I'd have had it legally changed. It's just Billy.”  
“William Hargrove sounds like some posh wanker from a British TV-drama.”  
“I like that you said wanker.”  
“What? Does it turn you on?” He said it in a way that was suggestive as fuck, and Billy liked it.  
“Maybe?” Billy waggled his tongue at him. 

In a display of luck more than skill they reached the park and stopped in the small parking lot connected to it. There were a few other cars there, but Steve couldn't see a lot of people in the park. He did, however, see an empty picnic table. He quickly rolled his window shut.  
“Come on, let's go to that table.”  
“I said no promises on walking.”  
“It's close enough to not even be called a walk. Come on.”  
Hargrove made a show off reluctance, but got out of the car and followed Steve to the table. Instead of sitting down at it Hargrove lay down on his back on one of the benches. He put his arms behind his head and looked up at the sky. Steve followed suit. Steve had questions he wanted to ask the other man, but he was worried they'd piss him off. They were both stoned and mellow, but that didn't mean it was impossible to ruin the mood and the moment.  
“Hey, Harrington.” It seemed those two words were going to be Hargrove's favorite way to start a conversation.  
“Yeah?”  
“You still have any contact with the people in Hawkins?”  
“Yeah, sure.” Steve went back there on a regular basis. One day he might even move back. The place still felt a lot more like home than the city.  
“Those shitty little kids too?” He didn't sound mocking in any way.  
“They're not shitty. And they're not all that little any more.” Steve lifted his head just enough to look at Hargrove, who didn't look back. Steve lay back again. “Yeah, I go to see them more than I go to see my parents when I visit.”  
“Nancy?”  
“And Jonathan. They're still together.” Steve could say that without bitterness now. There was a long time when he couldn't. They fit together. They were good for each other. 

There was a pause.  
“You and her breaking up made complete sense.”  
“I didn't feel that way at the time, but yeah.” Steve tapped his foot on nothing to a song even he couldn't hear.  
“And not because you're into guys.”  
“Why then?”  
“You're too much of a bad boy. You were trying to be something you're not with her. All respectable and shit.” He waved a hand in the air that Steve saw in his peripheral vision.  
“Hey, I can be respectable.”  
“Yeah, but it's an act, isn't it?”  
Steve couldn't argue with that. He did feel like he was playing at being respectable. Playing at being an adult too. But Hargrove wasn't entirely right. Sometimes he _was_ all respectable and shit. Sometimes he felt like he made a difference, and did the right thing, and was a good role model, and wanted to be sensible. It was when he was with the kids in Hawkins. Being around them made him think that maybe getting a job with kids would be cool. Not like kindergarten or that shit, but school kids. Be a teacher or something. Of course, to be a teacher you needed to be smart, and Steve wasn't. So he'd shelved that dream and gone into sales when his mother fixed him a job, and pretended to be respectable when people were looking, and got high, or drunk, or both when they weren't. Sometimes he'd go out to get drunk, and it wasn't rare that he ended up at some club or party when he did. And he was apparently into men, which definitely wasn't in the realm of respectable. In fact, the first time he consciously thought “that guy is fucking hot” was when he was out clubbing with some people he didn't know. It was been jarring, but enlightening, and had eventually led him to where he was right now. 

Steve looked over at the other man again. He may or may not be into men in general, most likely was, but he was without a single doubt entirely into Billy Hargrove. Being into a male prostitute was so far out of the realm of respectable you couldn't even see one from the other. Right now he couldn't care less. Prostitute or not, Hargrove was cool. As if he could sense Steve thinking about him Hargrove looked over at him.  
“You ever talk to Max?”  
Steve understood the line of conversation now. Hargrove was curious about his step sister. Their relationship when they first moved to Hawkins had been terrible, and Steve had learned most of that was because of Hargrove's father, but they were older now and the anger that had seemed a physical part of Hargrove's body was gone. It made sense for him to be curious about her.  
“Yeah, I talk to her every time I go there. Her and Lucas are still a thing.”  
“Huh.”  
“Yeah, it's weird with them. The normal falling in love every other week and breaking up over stupid shit doesn't seem to happen to them.” He started ticking off on his fingers. “Jane's still with Mike. Max is still with Lucas. Will is... careful. Dustin is really the only one who's been doing the usual teenager thing. He's become popular.”  
“So the loser's club no longer consists of losers?”  
“Something like that.” Steve smiled to himself, because he had heard a laugh in Hargrove's voice.  
“So how's she doing?”  
“Max? She's doing fine. Things were bad for a bit, but then Hopper slugged your dad in public and that mostly sorted things out at home for her.”  
Hargrove shot up in his seat.  
“He did what!?”  
Steve sat up too so they could look at each other. Hargrove looked stunned.  
“Yeah, your dad took out some of his anger on her after you left.”  
“Fuck, I was afraid that would happen.” He slammed a fist into the table.  
Steve put his hand on top of Hargrove's fist without thinking. They looked at each other. Steve smiled at him tentatively and continued.  
“She said it made her realize how much shit you had gone through because of him, and why you left.”  
“She doesn't know why I left.” He said it like was an automatic response. Like he wasn't thinking about it. His hand relaxed, marginally. “I always figured Susan would protect her.”  
“She did, mostly, but your dad is scary.”  
“You have no fucking idea.” The way Hargrove looked when he said it told Steve he really did have no idea. There was something bad there for sure. Steve felt the fist he was still holding tighten again.  
“Anyway, Hopper found out, and one time he ran into them outside the new mall he confronted him. Max was sporting a new bruise on her arm, and it was hand shaped. She had the balls to wear a t-shirt.”  
“Yeah, that kid always was ballsy.” He grinned, and it made Steve happy.  
“Hopper threatened your dad, saying he'd fuck him up if he saw any bruises on Max again ever. Your dad gave him attitude. So, Hopper lost his shit and clocked him. Max said it was beautiful. I'm sad I missed it.”  
“What did Neil do?” Oddly Hargrove's hand relaxed fully now, like he was really into the story and forgot to be stressed.  
“Went down like a sack of shit at first, but then he picked himself off the ground and tried to hit back. So Hopper clocked him again. That seemed to sort him out.” Steve realized he was rubbing his thumb over the back of Hargrove's hand. He didn't stop. Hargrove seemed not to notice. “You see, Hopper when he's really truly pissed off is scary as hell too. Terrifying. Max said she was left alone after that, and about half a year later Susan took Max with her and left him. It was Joyce Byers who convinced her. Will and Jonathan's dad is a piece of shit too.”

Billy was beyond surprised. Not only had Neil been beat up, but Susan had left him too. He guess it figured she'd come to her senses when it was her own kid in the blast zone instead of some angry little shit she'd just met. He closed his eyes and told himself he had never been her responsibility, so he had no right to be angry at her. She'd taken responsibility for what was hers, which was Max, and she'd left the piece of shit to help her kid. His own mom had just up and left him behind, so Susan did better.  
“Are they still living in Hawkins?”  
“Yeah, Susan and Max live in a little apartment not far from the arcade. Max loves that. She's a beast at arcade games. Neil still lives where you lived. I have no idea what he gets up to.”  
“Nothing good, I can guarantee you that.” Billy noticed Harrington was gently rubbing his hand. How had he not noticed before? He didn't move his hand or say anything to make it stop. “And everyone was just okay with the chief of police punching someone in the face on the street?”  
“No, he got in trouble for it.” Harrington looked like he was very proud of Chief Hopper. “I don't know how much. All I know is he's still chief, and he said it was worth it.”  
“I'm glad someone stood up for her.” Billy sort of wished he could have been there to see it, but also knew it would have been a bad idea to be that close to the man. His dad would have found some way to blame it on Billy.  
“He would have for you too, you know.”  
“What?” For a moment Billy couldn't quite understand what Harrington was talking about.  
“Hopper. If he'd known what your dad was doing to you, he would have slugged him for you too.”  
“You don't know what my dad was doing to me. You just know what Max said, and she didn't know either.” He scoffed. “Getting beat up was the easy part of it.”  
“What was the hard part?”  
“Nothing I want to talk about.” Billy was absolutely not ready to tell anyone, even Harrington, or especially Harrington, about how he grew up. How he'd been mocked, and humiliated; how he had been completely powerless against and absolutely terrified of his own father. How he'd been made to feel worthless, and weak. How he'd wanted so badly to stand up against him, and had never been able to find the strength or guts to even try. He wasn't sure he could find the strength even now. On top of all that his father's favorite derogatory term was “faggot”.  
“Sorry.”  
On impulse Billy flipped his hand over and took hold of Harrington's. They looked at each other and said nothing for a long time. 

In his peripheral vision Steve saw someone walk closer and it snapped him out of whatever had just been happening. He got up from the table.  
“Ready to go back?”  
“Are you going to let me drive?” Hargrove got up too and joined Steve in walking to the car.  
“Sure.” He tossed the car keys over.  
“Just like that?” Hargrove was so surprised he stopped.  
“Were you expecting an argument?” Steve waved his hand as a signal to keep moving. Hargrove complied.  
“Kinda.”  
“Disappointed?”  
“Can't say I am.” He gave Steve a cheeky grin.  
“Maybe I'm just curious if you're as sensible a driver as you claim.” Steve went to the passenger side and got in, which was always a weird thing to do in your own car. He had yet to do it in this car, but he remembered sharing the Beamer when he was younger.  
“I will not disappoint you.” He did a mock bow.  
Steve scoffed in response. 

The drive back to Hargrove's street went much better than Steve had feared. Hargrove really was a much more sensible driver than he used to be. Admittedly, that didn't take much. The man had been clinically insane on the road. Steve spent the time he didn't have to focus on the road trying to look at Hargrove without being obvious about it. He was starting to wonder if maybe he was in trouble, in the “oh shit, I'm having feelings I shouldn't have” kind of way. The guy was just so much fun to be around, and they seemed to get each other. He guessed that might be all it was. Steve liked hanging out with him and since his thoughts and feelings were still adjusting to the whole “yeah, I'm attracted to men” thing he was getting shit confused. And the fact Steve had fucked him more than once was really not helping with the confusion. But he could deal with it. Hargrove would make sure things didn't go too far in a weird direction, and eventually Steve's feelings would get with the program. He just needed to not give in to any of the bullshit in the meantime. He could definitely do that. He looked again and just then Hargrove flipped the bird at a driver who annoyed him. The “definitely” in his previous thought turned to a “probably”, which turned to a “maybe” when Hargrove looked at him and grinned with his tongue out. Steve grinned back at him, partly because the grin was infectious and partly to hide how his stomach had just done a little jig at the sight of it. Steve lit two cigarettes and handed one over to the other man, almost, but not quite, forgetting to open his window in the process. 

When they arrived at his place Billy was reluctant to get out of the car. It wasn't so much that he hadn't driven a car in a while as wanting to spend a little more time with Harrington. But, he refused to start making things awkward. It had been weird enough already at the park. He might decide to blame the weed for that one later. He handed the car keys over, making sure to not linger too long on touches.  
“Thanks for the weed today, Harrington. I had fun.”  
“Yeah, so did I.” He leaned on his car and looked uninterested in getting back in it. “You gonna work tonight?”  
“You don't think I should?” Billy mentally prepared himself for a fight about his job.  
“I think it's not my business to think things about what you do with your life.” Harrington smiled. “I was just curious.”  
“I probably will. Running low on cash.” Billy shrugged.  
Harrington nodded in a way that suggested Billy had just told him a mundane thing, like buying milk on the way home from work. Billy appreciated him not making an issue out of any of it just because they were becoming friends now. At least Billy hoped they were becoming friends. It felt like they were, even though sexual favor had been on the menu today. He wondered if Harrington felt the same way.  
“You have a phone, Hargrove?”  
“Nah.” A working phone line wasn't something Billy was willing to fork out money for each month. It wasn't like he had anyone to call.  
“Then I guess I'll just show up again if I want to hang out sometime.” Harrington grinned and winked.  
“Yeah, you do that. You might get lucky.” He winked back.  
“Get lucky?” His tone was as suggestive as humanly possible and he raised an eyebrow in a way that was even more suggestive.  
“That too.” Billy chuckled and stepped away. “See you around, Harrington.”  
“Bye.” He smiled as he got in his car and started the engine.  
Billy waved him off, then went up to his apartment. He had some time before he had to go work. There was little point in getting to whatever street he would be on tonight too early, because customers tended to only show up after a certain hour of the night. He could spend it sharing the joints he'd stolen with Jaqueline, and trying to figure out just what the everloving fuck he thought he was doing with Steve Harrington.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't watched season 3 of Stranger Things, and I won't watch it until I finish writing this story. It's important to me to maintain the image I have of them in my head, and I worry watching the next season will mess with that. So I will wait, and try to write faster.
> 
> I love every single comment, and I appreciate them, and I hope I keep getting them, but please don't talk about things from season 3 in them.  
> (I also love every single kudos, and hit, and everything. You guys rock!)  
> Even more than that it would spoil the surprise for me when I do watch season 3, it runs the risk of changing that image I have of the boys, and could start changing how I write them in the latter part of the story. I want my story to be consistent, and have changes in the characters be from events in the story and not from outside influence, and I would highly appreciate it if you're considerate of this.  
> Thank you.


	7. Chapter 7

Feeling nervous wasn't something Billy was particularly accustomed to, but right now that was exactly what he was feeling. He was hanging out outside Harrington's place of work, waiting for the man to come in. For all he knew the guy was out sick today, and he could end up standing there for hours looking like a creep. He also had no idea how Harrington would react to finding Billy there. Things could get ugly. Billy didn't want things to get ugly. Billy also didn't really know why he was there. He was there to convince Harrington to give him the car for a few hours so he could fix shit on it, but why he was set on doing this was a different thing altogether. He'd spent days thinking about almost nothing but Harrington; looking at the business card and the number and address on it. He'd fought with himself over whether or not he should take steps to see him again. It wasn't a smart thing to do to see him again. But then, neither was smoking weed in a car wash with the guy, and giving him Billy's first ever free blowjob. Billy had complicated things plenty by doing both those things, but here he was ready to complicate things more. He was clearly an idiot. 

When he saw the Mercedes pull into the lot about half an hour later he felt more relieved than he felt comfortable admitting to himself. At least he wouldn't be standing out there for hours. He walked over to where Harrington was currently parking; hurrying while pretending not to. He had to get over there before the man went inside, and it was a big parking lot.   
“Hey, pretty boy.” He didn't quite shout it, but it was close.   
Harrington whipped around so fast he nearly stumbled.   
“The fuck are you doing here?” He sounded outraged and a little scared.  
“Came to pick up the car.” Billy did his best to sound completely casual. He understood why Harrington was freaking out, but that didn't mean he liked it.   
“What?” Harrington looked very confused.  
“To fix it. Hand over the keys and you'll get a better car back this afternoon.”   
“You, you insane fucker, actually intend to follow through on that.”  
“Yes.” Billy grinned at him. “The question is if you trust me enough to give me the keys so I can fix it somewhere that isn't the parking lot at your place of work.”  
Harrington closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then burst into laughter.   
“You're fucking insane, Hargrove.” He held out his car keys. “I get off at five. Don't make me wait.”  
“You got it, pretty boy.” Billy snatched them before Harrington could change his mind.  
“And don't call me that in public.”  
“There's no one here.” Billy glanced quickly at the building. “Unless one of your coworkers can lipread from an angle I think you're safe.”  
“I just...” Harrington trailed off, but Billy knew what he meant.   
“I know.” There was no need to elaborate beyond that. “See you at five, Harrington.”  
Billy hopped in the car and drove off with a wave. Harrington waved back, so that was something. 

Steve squashed the nervous jitters that were all over his body and went inside. His most annoying colleague was grinning.  
“Harrington. Was that your boyfriend?”   
“Yes.” As mortified as Steve might be at having anyone know he might be interested in actually having a boyfriend, and have that boyfriend actually be Billy Hargrove, any show of denial was only going to make it a taunt to be used against him. Running with it was better. “Hot, isn't he?”  
“Wait, really?” He looked comically surprised.   
“He's fixing my car, Miller.” Steve overplayed his exasperation. “He's just a dude who's good with cars, who agreed to look at mine for cheap.”   
“Think he can look at mine too?”  
“He doesn't fix cars for assholes.” Steve walked by Miller's desk without stopping.   
“Screw you.” Miller flipped him the bird as much in secret as he could. Miller was a suck-up and wouldn't want the boss to know how much of an asshole he was.   
Steve went to his desk to get ready for the day. Seeing Hargrove had made him happier than he should be. The thought of seeing him again this afternoon made him happier still. Hanging out with Hargrove when he was feeling like this was probably a bad idea. Steve would try to convince the man to hang out when he got the car back anyway. He could use the excuse of needing to test drive the car after the fixing. Hell, he would probably make up several reasons to hang out in the time between now and then, just to increase the chances of hanging out actually happening. He was clearly an idiot. 

The day both snailed away for Steve and went by too fast. He was weirdly nervous about seeing Hargrove again and trying to get him to hang out a while. He hadn't even been this nervous when he went to get him to go to the drive-in with him. At least that's what it felt like right now. Maybe because he'd been paying that time while this time it was a completely voluntary thing. Even when going to the car wash there had been a weird form of business happening. He wanted to think the blowjob was something Hargrove had done just because he wanted to, but Steve wasn't quite that delusional. He didn't think he was _that_ special to the guy. The basketball playing had been just a friend thing, even though it had been a spur of the moment thing for Hargrove, so that gave Steve some hope. It was stupid how important it had become for Steve to be friends with him. It was also kind of embarrassing. As he completed the last call for the day, an unsuccessful attempt at a sale, he mentally berated himself for spending too much time thinking about Hargrove. The man had been on his mind far too much lately. In fact, thinking about him was probably what had cost him that sale. At least, he could blame it on that if he wanted to be childish. When he exited the building Hargrove was already there, leaning on the boot of the car, smoking and looking pleased with himself. Steve hurried over before any of his colleagues decided to come over and ask questions. 

Billy noted the concerned look on Harrington's face. He knew why it was there, but it still annoyed him to see it. Harrington was paranoid someone would ask questions, because he wouldn't know how to answer them, because he had fucked Billy. It was a similar paranoia to the one that came after jacking off the first time; like it was wrong and everyone knew you'd done it. He got it, but he didn't like it. He mostly didn't like it because he knew it was warranted to be paranoid about people finding out. Some people had a very adverse reaction to finding out a particular man was attracted to other men. Shit like that could fuck up everything for you. If Harrington worked for the wrong people he could lose his job over just a hint of it. It was fucked up, but it was reality. All Billy could really do about it was to be a person he didn't have to hide it from. Someone who was okay with it. And it would be hard to pretend he wasn't okay with it, considering he'd had the guy's dick in him more than once. In both ends. He'd been more okay with that than he'd expected to be, so that was cool. He grinned at Harrington when he got close enough to talk normally.   
“Hello, Mr. Harrington. Your car is ready. As ready as I could make it in a day.”  
He could see Harrington was struggling to not freak out about Billy standing out in the open like that.   
“Thanks.” He took a deep breath, and it seemed to calm him. “Did you find a lot wrong with it?”  
“A bit. Nothing that makes it unsafe on the road.” Billy smiled, because he appreciated how the other man had swallowed whatever he was feeling in favor of not giving him shit. “But this thing hasn't been taken good care of.”  
“I try to take care of it. The previous owner didn't give a shit about it.”  
“I'll blame it on him then.”  
Harrington scoffed.  
“How about we hop in and leave this hole? I've been here long enough today.”  
“Sure.” Billy handed over the car keys and didn't waste time getting into the passenger seat. 

By the time Steve sat down in the drivers seat Hargrove had a cigarette lit and waiting for him. It was like the man could read his mind. Steve took it and took a deep drag before starting the car. It did a lot to disperse any residual stress from the day and from seeing Hargrove standing there in view of everyone. He knew it was stupid to freak out. No one knew what they'd done, and there was nothing weird at all about a guy meeting up with another guy after work. Steve was just being very self-conscious about himself and his wants right now. Hargrove had done nothing wrong. So Steve had smothered his paranoia and not acted like a dick. He was a little proud of himself for it. He started the car and immediately noticed a lack of some of the sounds he was used to hearing. He looked over at Hargrove.   
“I can hear a difference.”  
“Amazing what tightening a few things and oiling a few others can do.” He shrugged, like he hadn't done anything special.   
“You are clearly a car genius.” Steve meant it without sarcasm.   
“And you haven't even seen the best part yet.” Hargrove fiddled a little with the stereo and suddenly Manowar was blasting from the speakers. He shouted over it to Steve. “I dropped by home to pick up some music!”  
“I can tell! Turn it down!” Steve waved his hand in a signal to drop the volume.   
“Thank god Mercedes started early with cassette players. This car is old.” Hargrove lit another cigarette. They seemed to smoke a lot when they were together. Funny how that worked. “Your music taste is weird, by the way.” He turned the music down until it was possible to hold a conversation without shouting. Barely.   
“Screw you. Alternative rock is the best genre ever created.” Steve enjoyed the little improvements he could feel in how the car handled as he turned onto the road.   
“No, the best genre ever created is metal. Hands down.” He started listing using his fingers. “Van Halen, Metallica, Manowar, Iron Maiden, Slayer.” He ran out of fingers and started reusing. “Def Leppard, Dio, Twisted Sister.”  
Steve broke in before he got too into naming every metal band ever created.   
“The Cure, Social Distortion, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, Pixies, U2, Nirvana, R.E.M., Morrissey, Ramones.” Steve did not use his fingers, due to driving the damned car. Less damned than it has been this morning.   
“Isn't Ramones more punk?”   
“They're still awesome.” Steve shrugged.   
“Okay, even I can agree with that.” Hargrove opened the glove box and rooted through the cassettes Steve still had in the car in spite of a broken stereo. “You have any Ramones?”  
“Not in the car.” Steve hoped he'd remember to add them to his selection, now that he had a working cassette player again.   
“Shit.” Hargrove sounded almost comically disappointed.   
“You have any Rush?” Steve tried to be helpful in finding common ground. He liked Rush.  
“Not in the car.”   
“Guess we're doomed to not agree on the music to play then.” He sighed dramatically.  
“You can't tell me you don't like any metal at all except Rush.” Hargrove pointed at Steve. “They barely count as metal, by the way.”  
“Bullshit.” Steve huffed indignantly, and then shrugged. “They're pretty much the only ones I know.”   
“You have a Metallica t-shirt.” Hargrove pulled on his own shirt to make a point. “And how can you know Rush without having run into any others?”  
“Okay, them too. Everyone knows them.” He shrugged, but felt the need to explain the Rush thing. “And a colleague of mine is a big Rush fan. It's all she ever plays, so I heard their music. And I like it. Okay?”  
Hargrove made a triumphant sound and held up a cassette he'd found somewhere in the glove box, completely forgetting to reply to Steve.   
“Pixies! That totally works.”  
“Agreed.”  
After a quick shuffle “Where Is My Mind?” came through the speakers, about halfway through the song. Steve made a mental note to rewind his damn car tapes. 

Billy sat back and enjoyed the music. Pixies weren't all that well known yet, but he was sure that would change. Their music was rad. He wasn't as against Harrington's choice of music as he pretended to be. He liked metal more, but alt rock wasn't bad. He looked at the buildings they were driving past, and the people walking around, and thought maybe he was supposed to ask Harrington to drive him home. After only a moment's consideration he decided he wouldn't. Harrington could take him home when it pleased him. Billy was happy to come along for the ride wherever the guy was going.   
“You wanna go home?” Harrington's repeat of Billy's thoughts was almost uncanny, except it was an expected question in this situation.   
“Naw, I want food.” Billy wasn't particularly hungry, but he wasn't keen on going home either, so he was happy for the excuse.   
“Food sounds good. What do you want?”  
“I dunno. McD or something.” Billy shrugged. “Something cheap and fast, and unhealthy.”  
“I'm more of a Burger King man, myself.”  
“I'm not picky. Burger King's fine.” Billy couldn't remember the last time he'd been to a Burger King, but he remembered the food being perfectly okay.   
“Cool. There's one not far from here.” Harrington pointed in what Billy assumed was the general direction of the restaurant. “I sometimes stop by after work.”  
“I'm glad to hear being a working man hasn't turned you off good food.”  
Harrington scoffed, but it sounded amused. 

The restaurant was full of the usual post-work customers. The ones that got the food to go instead of sitting down. Steve tended to be one of them the times he dropped by after work. Today was different. Today he wanted to sit down to eat, and talk to Hargrove. He resisted the urge to offer to pay for the food. Hargrove could ask him if he was broke. Steve didn't want to give the impression he always expected the guy to not have money. They both ordered the same thing, which wasn't really weird, considering it was the Whopper and its friends fries and coke. A wholesome all-American meal if there ever was one. They found a booth in a corner and sat down. The nearest tables were empty. There were a few groups of teenagers eating, but for some reason they didn't like that particular corner. Maybe they didn't like how far it was to walk to condiments and napkins from there. Or maybe someone had peed there once and had gotten a reputation. He didn't care. He got to sit in relative privacy with Hargrove. After they'd eaten a few bites he jumped into a question that had been dropping in on him since they met as adult.   
“So how'd you end up doing what you do for a living anyway?”  
“Really?” Hargrove sounded annoyed. “While we're eating?”  
“Is it that disgusting?”  
“Naw, it's not disgusting. Just stupid.” The annoyance had already faded from his voice. “I don't want to talk about it.”  
“Okay. Sorry.” Steve lifted his hands to show he was backing off the subject. He tried to think of something else to talk about, but drew a blank, so he ended up eating more burger instead. 

Billy finished his soda too fast, which wasn't a rare occurrence, and got up to get a refill. He picked up a refill for Harrington while he was at it. When he sat back down he decided the rest of the burger could wait a minute.   
“So, Harrington.”  
“Mm?” A mouth full of fries prevented him from being more articulate. The soda he'd just been handed helped him swallow it quickly.   
“You ever think about moving back to Hawkins?” Billy was very weird about Hawkins. He had no connection to the place, other than his dad living there, and he hated the man. The few months he'd lived there shouldn't matter compared to the years he'd lived other places. And yet, he kept thinking about it, and wondering if he should go back. Even before he met Harrington again he'd thought of it. Maybe it was because he felt guilty for how he'd treated Max.  
“Yeah. I probably will sometime. I like it there. I just needed to get away for a while.” Harrington took a large chunk out of the piece of burger he had left.  
“Because of your dad?”  
“That, and figuring my own shit out.” He spoke before swallowing all of his burger. Billy refrained from commenting on manners.   
“Said shit being what I've been helping you figure out?” He made what he hoped was a suggestive face. He was usually good at those.   
“When I left Hawkins I wasn't really aware it was an issue.” Harrington shrugged. “Denial or whatever.”   
“You wouldn't be the first to catch on late.” Billy shrugged too. “It happens.”  
“When did you catch on?”   
“I dunno. I think probably when I hit puberty. I didn't think about it before then. Too busy with other stuff, I guess.” Or maybe it was that his dad had called people faggot enough times that Billy definitely wouldn't want to be one of them, and so ignored those kinds of thoughts until they could no longer be ignored. “Some people know from when they're little kids, but I was never very bright.”  
“You do know you're smarter than the average smartass, right?”  
“How would you know?” Billy started working on his own food again. It was mostly cold, but fast food wasn't good enough to really notice the difference anyway.  
“I went to school with you. Maybe it wasn't very long, but it was long enough to know your grades outstripped mine. And most other people's.”   
“You noticed my grades?” It seemed a little weird to Billy that anyone noticed how he did at school in the short time he was in Hawkins.   
“Yeah, and I remember thinking how unfair it was that an asshole like you got good grades without even putting in the effort, while I worked my ass off for mediocrity.”  
“Did you even know a long word like that back then?” Billy grinned at him wickedly.   
“Fuck you.” Harrington burst into chuckles while saying it. 

Billy couldn't say what possessed him to have his next few thoughts, but it only took him about four seconds to decide to run with it. He'd looked over at a guy coming out of the bathroom door, and thought about how homophobes thought gay men did dirty things in fast food bathrooms. Or park bathrooms. Or something along those lines.   
“So, Harrington, what do you think of the gay experience so far?”  
“I think you should keep it down, is what I think.” Harrington tried to look around without turning his head too much, checking if someone was close enough to overhear. No one was.   
“You wanna experience some more of it?” Billy stacked their now empty trays on top of each other and put them to the side.   
“What do you mean?”   
“Go into that bathroom over there...” He indicated in the direction of the door with his head. “And I'll show you.”   
“Are you out of your mind?” Harrington looked outraged.   
“I'm pretty sure I am. I've fucking lost it.” Billy laughed, at himself, his clear insanity, and the situation he was trying to get them in. “Take advantage. Have some fun.”  
“I don't even...”  
Billy grabbed Harrington's soda and drained it in one long sip, while looking him straight in the eyes. He saw him swallow in response. Billy leaned in closer to him.  
“I'm going to put away our trays and go into the bathroom. You follow in about five minutes. There are tons of people in here. No one will notice as long as we don't go in together.” He picked up the trays. “Live a little, Harrington. Be crazy.” He walked off without looking back.   
He dumped their wrappings and empty soda cups into the trash, like a dutiful customer, and put their trays in the indicated spot. Then he walked directly into the bathroom without hesitating. Just a normal dude taking a piss after having too much watered down coke. His heart was beating a little too hard to feel as normal as he was acting. Insane didn't even cover this. This was in the territory of stupid shit you shouldn't do. It was exciting. 

With his heart damn near vibrating in his chest Steve checked his watch. Five minutes. Five minutes to decide how crazy he was. Five minutes to decide if that craziness included doing dirty gay stuff in a fast food bathroom that had teenagers outside it. At least that's what he was expecting to happen. Gay sex stuff, practically in public. He was shocked and appalled, and already starting to get hard at the thought. Dear god, he really _was_ a pervert. He hadn't know he had it in him. Clearly he did. Equally clear was the realization he was actually going to do this. He checked his watch again. Two minutes to go. He surreptitiously looked around, trying to judge if anyone was noticing his presence. No one seemed to care in the least. People were eating and talking, and completely ignoring the table in the corner. One minute. Fuck it, it didn't have to be exact. He got up and made a beeline for the bathroom, trying to look completely casual. No one special. Just a customer who had too much soda. He could feel his hand trembling as he reached up to push the door open. There was thankfully no one else in there. Stroke of luck. He saw the door to the furthest stall creep open. A finger peeked out and waved him over. Steve did not hesitate. Just as he reached it and went in he heard the door open behind him. Fuck. Hargrove reached past him and locked the stall door, while holding a finger to Steve's lips. He looked wicked, delicious, and horny as hell. His eyes were glazed by arousal, but still intense. Whatever Steve's cock had been missing in terms of hardness was immediately fixed. Then Hargrove grinned and Steve was ready to just fucking take him then and there. 

Billy looked at Harrington's flushed face and grinned. The man looked both nervous and horny at the same time. It was gorgeous. The bathroom stall was heating up, and they were both short of breath; for no other reason than excitement and proximity. Billy leaned in to whisper in Harrington's ear, purposefully breathing hot air on it.   
“We need to be completely quiet, or someone's gonna catch us.”  
“I know.” Harrington's breath hitched slightly, and the warm puff hit Billy's ear; as if in retaliation.   
Instead of saying anything more Billy slid a hand down to touch the bulge on Harrington's pants. It took only seconds before Harrington's hand was on Billy's pants in turn. They both squeezed gently. This was going to be interesting. Billy bit back a groan of pleasure. They couldn't make a sound. Getting caught was a real danger, and you most definitely didn't want to get caught doing homosexual stuff in a place like this. Cops might be called. Cops would _probably_ be called. It wouldn't make much of a difference for Billy's criminal record, but Harrington would be in deep shit. This danger was not enough to make Billy want to stop what they were doing. In fact, it made him a little more excited about it. Instead of stopping he undid Harrington's pants and reached in to grab and expose his dick. His reward was an explosive breath, but no moan. When Harrington did the same to him Billy was also able to not make a sound. He was a little proud of himself, because it felt fucking good. Billy crowded Harrington up against the wall, until they were close enough that the hands holding their dicks pressed up against each other. They leaned their heads together, cheek to cheek, so they were breathing against each others' ears. 

Steve knew slow and gentle wasn't an option right now, and he didn't want it to be. This was going to be quick, dirty, and wrong, and he loved it. He reached down blindly and pulled Hargrove's lower body closer. Close enough that their cocks could rub together. He moved Hargrove's hand, so he could grab both cocks at the same time. Hargrove wrapped his hand over Steve's from the other side, so they were jerking both cocks together. It took a moment to sync up their movements, but when they achieved it it was glorious. Their movements were near frantic; rushing toward completion. Steve tried to breathe as quietly as possible, but it was fucking difficult. His body and lungs were screaming at him to moan and gasp. He'd never been very quiet in bed, and certainly not right before coming. As long as he didn't make sounds other than breathing hard he'd consider it a victory. The sounds of their movements felt like they were too loud. Quick wet sounds that couldn't really be mistaken for anything other than cocks being jerked. Behind the almost deafening sounds in the stall he heard the sink running, and then the door to the outside opening and closing. He had an instant urge to just let go and make all the sounds he was holding back. He knew he shouldn't, but he really fucking wanted to. Before Steve could do more than think it, Hargrove grabbed his face with his free hand, and kissed him. It wasn't any chaste “be quiet” kind of kiss. It was deep, wet, and fucking steaming. Holy shit, this was new. Steve forgot all about making sounds. He also forgot all about jerking them off, but Hargrove took over that as easily as he'd shoved his tongue down Steve's unsuspecting throat. Steve was only shocked for a moment, before kissing back as good as he got. At least trying to. God, the man could kiss. In what felt like mere seconds Steve was right back to being close to coming, even closer now than he had been. Hargrove pushed against him with his whole body, until Steve was pressed head to feet up against the wall behind him, then he managed to crown him further by making the kiss even more intense. Steve hadn't even known it was possible to make it more intense, but apparently it was, and it drove him over the edge before he even realized it. 

Feeling Harrington come apart up against him had Billy follow suit almost immediately. The ease with which Harrington made him lose his shit was almost a little scary. Billy hadn't planned on kissing him. He'd heard him start to make little noises, and it was the first thing he thought of to stop it. Once it had been initiated it felt to Billy like everything, his whole life, depended on him continuing the kiss. It stopped being about not making sounds, and became something new and hot and easy to get lost in. It was only the prostitute in him that let him remember to keep jerking them off. Harrington clearly forgot all about it as soon as they were kissing. Even after they had come, and their breathing slowed, and the come cooled on their hands, Billy was reluctant to break the kiss. Harrington seemed to agree, because they kept kissing for quite a while. It wasn't until the door to the restaurant opened again that they came to their senses and broke apart. They looked at each other, but sensibly said nothing. Billy got some toilet paper for them so they could wipe off and sort out their clothes. Harrington had gotten some semen on his shirt. Billy spit on some of the paper and wiped at the stain, mostly without effect. Harrington's face said he wasn't sure which was more disgusting between the spit and the semen. Billy found it funny, seeing as he'd had said spit in his mouth only moments before. Billy gestured that Harrington should go first, and signed that he should go to the car. He hoped he got it. Harrington frowned, nodded, and then hurried out of the stall before anyone else could come in. Shortly after, the sink was used, and then the door to the outside opened and closed. Billy stayed where he was, trying not to think about the kiss, and how he'd love to have it happen again. He shouldn't want to do it again. It was supposed to be something he'd had to do to stop them from being detected. It wasn't, but he didn't need to think about that. He thought about something else instead. Like needing to use the toilet he was standing next to. He had had a lot of soda. When he figured he'd waited long enough he left the stall, washed his hands, and sauntered out of the restaurant and out to Harrington's car. 

When he got there Harrington was smoking and looked somewhere between sated and anxious. Billy hopped in and immediately lit a cig for himself. Harrington didn't waste any time starting the car and leaving the parking lot.   
“So why should I leave first? Wouldn't be make more sense that you leave first since you entered first?”  
“Naw, I could spend extra time more than you could.” He shrugged. “If someone asked I'd just say the food didn't agree with me. It's a fast food place, no one would think it was weird.”   
“Is this some trick you learned as a prostitute?”  
“No, it was just quick thinking.” He grinned. “I'm occasionally able to do that. I've never done a hand job in a place like that before. Or anything else, for that matter.”  
“Really?”  
“Well, I've done shit in bathroom stalls, but it was in places like nightclubs and gay bars. People expect that kind of shit there.” Billy thought about his first sexual encounters in the city. All done in the bathrooms of gay bars and clubs.   
“True.” Harrington nodded like he completely understood.   
“You go to gay bars?” Billy wasn't sure if he wanted him to say yes or no. It would be an interesting development, but part of him sort of wanted him to himself. It was bad to think like that.   
“Fuck no.” Harrington shook his head in quick movements. “I've been to various clubs, but not that.”  
“Ever done stuff in bathroom stalls?”   
“No.” He was still shaking his head. “I'd be too scared. And I'm not big on casual sex.”  
“Really? You weren't too scared today.” Billy gave him a cheeky grin; the one that usually included his bad habit of sticking his tongue out of his mouth. He was working on that habit, but Harrington seemed to bring it out in him. It was like his tongue had a thing for the man.   
“Don't sound so surprised. All my casual sex, which is like three times or whatever, has been with women.” Harrington paused and shot Billy a mock glare. “And today was totally different, and I blame you for it.”  
“And women don't do it for you.” Billy supplied helpfully, while trying to squish down the disgustingly happy feeling he got from Harrington's final sentence.   
“Obviously they do it a little for me. But fuck, it's nothing like fucking you did for me. Did to me.” He said it in a way that suggested he was reliving it in his head.   
“Butt fuck.” Billy giggled like a kid at a fart joke. The stupid joke was far easier than dealing with what Harrington had just said.   
Harrington gave him a look and a scoff, but quickly joined in. 

Steve's nerves were starting to settle. He wasn't sure if it was the cigarette, getting away from Burger King, Hargrove being silly, or a combination of the three. Regardless of why, he was starting to feel more and more relaxed and awesome as they drove. He couldn't believe what he'd just done. It was so not like him it was almost mind boggling. Hargrove just had that effect on him, it seemed. He brought out his adventurous side full force. His sexually adventurous side. He used to think he didn't have one. Turned out he most definitely did, and it was loud and eager. He couldn't find it in himself to complain. Not when he had Billy Hargrove there to fuel it all. He didn't want to think about not having Hargrove there to fuel it, even though he knew it had to happen eventually. He couldn't keep paying the guy to have sex. It wasn't sustainable. But, speaking of.   
“Do I owe you anything for today?”  
“Hey, fuck you, Harrington!” Hargrove went from zero to furious in 0.3 seconds. “You think I can't do anything for fun?”   
“I meant for the car, dipshit. Calm the fuck down.” Steve was beyond surprised by the violent reaction to his question.   
“You think I can't do anything to be nice either?”  
“First of all, I wasn't the one who said you can't do anything for fun.” Steve held up his finger in a lecturing way, channeling his inner teacher. “Those were all your words. Second of all, I'm asking because it's not right for you to pay for any parts to fix _my_ car. I'm wondering if you had to buy anything that I should pay for.”  
“Then fucking say that.” His tone went over from angry to sulking.   
“I didn't know you were gonna blow a fucking fuse over it.”  
“You've been paying me for sex. Of course I'm gonna assume that's what you mean.” He lit another cigarette with the tail end of his first one; clearly calming himself.  
“Okay, sorry. I didn't think about that, okay?” He held his hand up in apology, but then grinned at Hargrove. “I guess that means I totally think you can do stuff just for fun. I even went so far as to assume that's what happened today. So you can calm your tits.” He paused, but just had to throw out one more thing. “Dickhead.”  
“Fuck you.” Whatever heat had been behind his words before was gone. There was still a little sulk left in them, however. “King Steve.”  
“That's not an insult.”   
“I'd call you a cocksucker, but you haven't tried that yet.” He threw Steve a cheeky grin, and everything was fine again.   
“I don't think that's an insult either.” Steve grinned back at him.   
Steve pondered the merits of becoming a cocksucker. He guessed he eventually would. He wasn't entirely opposed to the idea of having another guy's cock in his mouth. More specifically, he wasn't entirely opposed to the idea of having Billy Hargrove's cock in his mouth. Though, considering what he did for a living a condom would probably want to be involved. Steve made a mental note to check available flavors. Regular condom flavor probably sucked. 

Feeling like an idiot wasn't entirely foreign to Billy, and he sure as hell felt like one now. Harrington had been honest and nice, and Billy had promptly lost his shit. Harrington had been nothing but nice to him the whole time, and Billy had still jumped to the worst conclusion and acted on it. He was not only an idiot, he was an asshole idiot. He wasn't going to apologize. Apologizing would bring it up again, and might make it worse. Harrington had grinned, and Billy would take it as a sign everything was good. He had bought some parts for the car, but Harrington didn't need to know that.   
“You don't owe me anything for the car fix. Didn't cost me anything other than time.”  
“And your outburst leads me to believe you don't want anything for that time either?” It wasn't really a question, but Harrington's tone turned it into that anyway.   
“Naw, it's all good.” Billy was more than happy to take the hit to his wallet. If nothing else then for being an asshole.   
“Cool. Thank you.” He smiled warmly, and Billy's stomach did a little twitch. “Really. You've made the car better than bearable, and I really appreciate it.”  
“Don't mention it.” Billy hid how happy he got at the praise. God, when had he become so prone to warm and fuzzy shit?   
“So, drive you home?”  
“Yeah, thanks. I need to work tonight.” The hit to Billy's wallet meant he couldn't take the night off, probably for a while, depending on traffic. He looked at the way Harrington smiled while driving, as he noticed little things Billy had fixed. Worth it. Definitely worth it.   
“Do you ever have nights off?” Harrington tossed the question out idly. Billy couldn't tell if he was hinting at something or just curious. He didn't know which one he wanted it to be.   
“I probably have too many nights off. I'm in a state of perpetual broke, because every time I have money I skip work to spend it.” He shrugged. He knew he shouldn't live like that, but so far he hadn't found enough want to change it.   
“I presume after paying your bills.” Harrington looked over just long enough to raise his eyebrow at Billy.   
“Yes, after that.” Billy chuckled at himself. “I learned that the hard way.”  
“Yeah?”  
“For a smart kid I've managed to be monumentally stupid about a lot of shit.” Billy flicked his near dead cigarette butt out the window, then sat back and sighed. He thought about how he and his first acquaintances in the city got evicted from their small dingy and cheap apartment. Then he thought about how he still wasted money instead of saving it. “Frankly, I still am.”  
“A smart kid?” Harrington said, in a way that implied he thought that was what the 'still am' referred to; not disbelief that Billy had been smart.   
Billy scoffed, but was pleased.   
“No, but really. Most of the reason I ended up a whore was because I was dumb as fuck, and had too little impulse control for my own good.” Maybe some day he'd tell Harrington that story. Not today.   
“I think you were the most rebellious teenager I ever met.” Harrington grinned.   
“I had a lot to rebel against.” Billy grinned to make it seem less serious than it felt. He was okay with sharing some, apparently, but certainly not everything. But, something had changed between him and Harrington. Not in one go, but slowly over the time they spent together. Billy just had to remember to not let stupid feelings get in the way of what could shape out to be a cool friendship. A friendship that might sometimes include sex of the paid kind, and maybe of the free kind too. Maybe. He could live with that. 

Driving with Hargrove, listening to music, smoking, and just enjoying the ride was something Steve could get used to. Hargrove switched the music as they went along, and he chose well. For all his talk of heavy metal being better than alt rock he sure knew to choose the good bands and the good songs. Given how good he was at picking the good stuff, Steve would be willing to test listen to Hargrove's brand of heavy metal. Maybe not at full volume at the start.   
“Next time, bring some of your music. I wanna hear if it's as good as you say it is.”  
“Next time?” The way Hargrove said it let Steve hear a raised eyebrow in the words.  
“I fucking hope so.” Steve didn't like the idea of Hargrove not wanting to hang out anymore. “Don't you want there to be a next time?”  
“Which part?” He sounded like he was fishing for a particular answer.   
“The driving around doing jack shit while listening to music part.” Steve decided to go for a safe, but completely true, answer. No point in bringing up the sex thing, even though he certainly wouldn't be adverse to that happening again too.   
“That's a good part. I'm game for that.” Hargrove grinned and nodded.   
“Good. So, next time bring some of your music.”  
“Will do, pretty boy.” Hargrove did a mock salute.   
They arrived in Crapville sooner than Steve wanted. Hargrove got out of the car but leaned back in before closing the door.  
“See you around, Harrington. I'll pick out good tunes for next time.”  
“Any idea when next time will be?”  
“That is entirely up to you. You know where I live.” He nodded his head in the direction of his apartment. Steve didn't know the exact apartment, but he did know which building.   
“Sure. See you next time.”  
Hargrove gave a another mock salute and left. 

Going home Steve tried to not think about how he still felt about Hargrove. How he increasingly felt about him. Convincing himself it was just confusion and nothing to be worried about just wasn't working. It definitely wasn't working after what happened today. First there was the fact Hargrove had initiated sex just for fun. Because he _wanted_ to do dirty things with Steve. And then there was the kiss. God, that kiss. It was hard to not read anything into that. Reading something into it would definitely be stupid, but it was still hard to not give in to it. It was probably because he wanted to give in to it. The thought of Hargrove wanting to kiss him was just too good to not want to have. So he gave in for a while. Just in the car. Just until he got home. That was okay, right?


	8. Chapter 8

Of all the stupid people who ever lived on this world, he, Steve Harrington, was probably the most stupid. It had started with a discussion about baking. The only female sales rep at the company, Lisa Cooper, had claimed men can't bake. She had very little positive to say about men in general, and happily jumped on any excuse to say men were inferior. Steve had protested. He knew it was futile, but he couldn't help himself. He was of the opinion neither gender was superior or inferior. He said he knew plenty of men who could bake. That was a lie. Steve only knew a couple of men who could bake. That he knew of. It wasn't something he was in the habit of asking about. Steve brought up how there were plenty of bakeries that did well that were run by male bakers. He felt clever that he thought of that. Cooper had switched to cake baking. Cake baking was something men couldn't do. Women could always make better cakes than men. Steve was trying to think of another clever response when Miller got involved. Miller decided to make a bet of it. He had bet Cooper that he and Steve could bake better cakes than her. Steve had tried to back away from it, but then Miller had called him a coward, and Cooper had said it proved her point, and at that point Steve had had only one choice. He accepted the bet. After some heated discussion Steve didn't get involved in it was decided they would make cheesecakes. Of all the bloody things to choose. Steve supposed it didn't really make a difference. He couldn't bake for shit either way. Dinner he could make, at least simple ones. Desserts were things he bought to tack onto the end of the dinner he'd made. Or to just eat from the pack in front of the TV. Steve protested when they said to bring the cakes the day after. He needed time to figure shit out. He'd said they should allow for time to get ingredients that were hard to come by, and that two days was a minimum. Thankfully the others had agreed. 

After work Steve made his way to the biggest supermarket he knew, to try to see if there was anything there that could give him an idea of how make a cheesecake of any kind. He didn't have any hope of actually winning the bet, but giving up wasn't an option. He went up and down the baking aisle, feeling like a moron lost in a science lab. Eventually he gave up, bought a bag of chips and some soda, and went to the car to decide what to do next. He guessed he could hit the library to look up recipes. He just wasn't sure it would help. What he needed were detailed instructions on video, not some words and pictures in a book. Right now he regretted not getting to know more people in the city. He had no one to turn to for help. Except... Steve groaned and hid his face in his hands, and knew for certain he was actually going to do it. He was going to go ask Billy Hargrove if he knew how to make a cheesecake. It was the second most stupid option, right after trying to figure out a cook book on his own, but he was getting desperate. He was so desperate, in fact, that he drove straight to Crapville to try to find said Hargrove. In front of the building Steve had seen Hargrove walk into the last time he was here he saw a very tall blonde woman smoking and talking to a not quite as tall auburn haired woman. He drove over to them and got out of the car. He leaned on the roof of it.  
“Sorry, sugar, “ said the blonde one, before he could say a word. “We're not on the clock.”  
“And we don't take any damn clients at home.” The auburn haired one was clearly taking no shit today.   
“What? No, god no.” The women just looked at him and he realized he'd been rude. “I mean, not that you ladies aren't pretty and all. I'm just not...” He took a deep breath. “Do you know where I can find Billy Hargrove?”  
“Billy ain't home.” The blonde crushed her cigarette under her shoe. A purple high heeled thing that Steve thought was probably too big for him. “He had an early bird client and took off an hour ago.”  
“Customer.” The word was out of Steve's mouth before he knew it.   
“'Scuse me?” The auburn haired one gave him a disapproving look.   
“He calls them customers.”  
“So you do know him.” The blonde lady smiled. “What's your name, sugar?”  
“Steve.” He paused and figured if Billy had told any of them about him he wouldn't have used that part of his name. “Harrington.”   
The women looked at each other in a meaningful way that made Steve wonder just what Hargrove had said about him.   
“Hello, Steve.” The blonde one came over and held out her hand. “I'm Jaqueline. Billy's roommate. The grumpy one is Belladonna. Bella for short.” Belladonna huffed in a way that told Steve he should say her whole name and not the shortened version if he addressed her.   
“Hi, nice to meet you.” Steve shook the offered hand. Her grip was strong, and up close he could see she had some serious muscle going on in her arms. Steve was relatively sure that if he ever got in a fight with Jaqueline he would go down like a lame gazelle. 

“What do you need Billy for?” She crossed her arms in a way that was just shy of threatening.   
“A stupid and embarrassing bet I got myself into.”  
“What kind of bet?” Jaqueline looked at him in a way that was almost cartoonishly skeptical. “Sex bet?”  
“No, no, nothing like that.” Steve waved his hand to emphasize the no. “If I find him he can tell you all about it later, and you can laugh. Right now I'm feeling too dumb to go into details.” He tried to will away a blush that wanted to creep onto his face at the thought of telling them he'd bet about cheesecake.   
“And what if we don't want to help you unless you tell us?” Belladonna came closer and crossed her arms.   
“Then I guess I'm fucked.” Steve _really_ didn't want to give the details of his stupidity to them.   
“The customer didn't book him for long. He's probably either in his usual spot or killing time before going there. Do you know where it is?”  
“Yeah, I do.” He really hoped they wouldn't ask him about how he knew, though Billy had probably already told them. “Thank you.”  
“Now you treat him well, you hear?” Jaqueline pointed at him, and Belladonna joined in behind her.   
“I wasn't planning on doing anything else.” He lifted both hands in a show of surrender.   
“Good, 'cause else you'll be in trouble with Bella and I.” Jaqueline flexed her muscles only slightly, but Steve took the hint easily.   
“Look, I like Billy. He's cool. Actually he's kind of awesome. I won't be an asshole. I promise.” He held out his hand, ready to make an agreement.   
“All right. I believe you, sugar.” Jaqueline shook it and nodded.   
Steve got in the car and waved at them as he drove off. Hargrove had some interesting friends, but they clearly cared about him. He guessed that was a huge step up from how things had been in Hawkins. Hargrove had had a lot of friends, or what looked like friends, but Steve didn't think anyone had actually cared much about him, just like he hadn't cared much about them in return. Steve had lived that life before he met Nancy and the kids. It had sucked. He just hadn't known it sucked. He shook off the thoughts of bad friends and turned up the music. Time to find Hargrove and get laughed at. 

When he saw his usual plot come into view Billy sighed and considered going home. Even though he'd stopped to eat at the Burger King he and Harrington had shared handjobs at, it was still too early to effectively pull customers, and it was cold as fuck. Christmas was only weeks away, and that was a shitty time to be a whore on the street. Cold as hell, and people suddenly had a conscience that apparently prohibited them from buying sex until January. He pulled his jacket a little tighter at the thought. He was doing the cowboy thing tonight, with jeans, hat, boots and all, but not all the way classic cowboy. He was wearing a bright red cotton shirt under the denim jacket, instead of flannel or whatever they wore, and he had no chaps. Chaps would be pulling it too far. The Burger King had been well out of his way, but since he'd had time to kill he'd made the effort, and then had had to fight off a hard-on when he remembered what they'd done in the bathroom. He'd even considered going into the same stall to jerk off after eating. It was weird for him to have that much of a want to get off. Especially since he'd just been fucked for pay by a dude he didn't even like. The guy always paid well over Billy's normal rate, but he was a creep. Billy had once threatened to cut him off. Then the guy offered him more money, and Billy changed his mind. The guy never missed a chance to smugly remind him how he'd caved as soon as he was offered higher pay. It usually annoyed Billy when he did this, but really, what the fuck did the guy expect from a whore? Billy shook his head in private exasperation and went to his spot to look fuckable. He was good at that. 

He'd been there only moments when Harrington came down the street in his Benz. Billy grinned. This was a good start to the work night. He could get fucked by Harrington, and be back at a more sensible time to start pulling. He started walking before the car had even pulled to a stop. The window rolled down and an embarrassed looking Harrington came into view. Were they back to this, or did he maybe have something extra perverted in mind?   
“Hey, Harrington. Got bored after work?”  
“How much to help me make a cheesecake?” The words came out in a rush, much like the first time he'd asked Billy for a fuck.   
“What?” Billy was completely thrown by the question. Any snarky comment he might have had queued up was gone.   
“I need to make a cheesecake, a good one, and I have no idea how to make one. Help?”  
“Why the fuck do you need to make a cheesecake?”  
“Um...” A blush crept onto Harrington's face, and Billy felt like he'd fallen into a Twilight Zone episode. “I made a bet. I didn't mean to make it. It just sort of happened.”  
He launched into an explanation for how the bet had come to be. In the middle of it Billy had him pause for long enough to get in the car. He handed Harrington a lit cigarette. It was taken with something that looked like relief.   
“So, let me get this straight.” He put his hat on the dashboard. “You bet someone you could make a better cheesecake than them, when you've never made one in your life, and don't know the first thing about how to go about it?” Billy did his best to sound reasonable, instead of giving into the giggles that were fighting to get out.   
“Essentially.”  
“You know, Harrington, sometimes you're impressively unintelligent.” Billy couldn't help the small laugh that escaped him in the middle of the sentence. Thankfully Harrington didn't get upset at it.   
“I know.” Harrington rubbed a hand over his face before looking over at Billy. “Will you help me?”  
“You assume I know how to make cheesecake.”   
“Not really. You're just smarter than me and have a higher chance at figuring it out.” He shrugged.   
“You always sell yourself short when it comes to brains.” Billy wondered if he'd be able to convince Harrington he was actually pretty smart when he put his mind to it. When he wasn't being an idiot.   
“I made a bet to make cheesecake.” He looked at Billy pointedly.   
Billy laughed. God, Harrington was so damn cute sometimes. Billy had an ill-advised urge to kiss him. Shit, he was getting deep into this. He shouldn't, but he waded in deeper.   
“Sure, I'll help you.”

Steve nearly groaned in relief.   
“Thank you. You're a goddamn life saver.”  
“Don't thank me yet. We haven't made it yet. I've never made a cheesecake in my life either.” He grinned and leaned back in his seat, almost as if he was proud of the fact.   
“We can be moral support for each other while making a mess.” Steve cheerily and mockingly held up a thumb. He was mocking the situation and not Hargrove, and the other man thankfully got it.   
“Speaking of, where should we do the messing?” He rolled down his window long enough to get rid of his cigarette. Steve looked at his own and judged it sufficiently smoked to follow suit.   
“My place? I have a decent kitchen.” Steve's kitchen was one of the best rooms in his apartment. He really didn't use it enough for how good it was.   
“Rad. The next question is when.”  
“I need to take it to work two days from now.”  
“Great, that gives us some time. I can help you tomorrow. I'm too broke to skip work, much as I might want to.” He made a show of mock disappointment. “It also gives me some time to look up how to bake.”   
“Look up?” Steve was momentarily confused, and then got embarrassed as soon as he realized the simple answer.   
“You ever hear of these fancy things called libraries, Harrington?” Hargrove grinned cheekily. “They have books you can learn shit from.”  
Steve responded by sticking out his tongue at him.   
“I considered going there today, before deciding you were a better option.”   
“I'm flattered.” Hargrove said it like a joke, but he looked pleased. “When do you get off work?”  
“I can probably sneak off at 4.” Steve was 90% sure his boss wouldn't mind if he took off early one day. He was usually a very conscientious worker. He could also find a good excuse for it, like a toothache or dead aunt or something.   
“Cool. I'll be at the Burger King we were at. You can pick me up there. Is that cool?”  
“It is.” Steve wondered how he'd react to going back there. He hadn't been back since what happened in the bathroom. Frankly, he was worried he'd get an erection while standing in line.   
“Great.” 

Billy looked at Harrington, who now looked considerably less embarrassed than at the start, and thought about how it was still technically too early to pull customers. There were so many things they could do, like go somewhere and have a coffee, or just sit in the car somewhere and listen to music. He turned to Harrington and grinned.   
“Now that that's settled, I need to kill time and you have a car.”  
“What do you have in mind?” He sounded game immediately.   
“I dunno. Fancy a blowjob somewhere?” Billy was surprised at the words exiting his mouth, but damn if he didn't mean them when he thought about it.   
Harrington looked at him with an expression that was a mix between skepticism, shock, and lust. Billy's old habit of sticking his tongue out of his mouth returned. Maybe he was nervous. He wiggled it pointedly at Harrington.   
“No really. If you want it, don't ask questions. Just go to that parking lot we were at the first time.” Billy helpfully pointed him in the right direction. It might be a risky spot at this time of day, but it would probably be fine.   
Harrington didn't say a word, but started the car and drove. He still looked shocked, but Billy threw a peek at his crotch and saw the beginnings of an erection there. As for himself, Billy wondered what the fuck he was doing, offering a blow job out of the blue like that. He had every intention of going through with it, free of charge and just for fun, but he still thought he'd lost his mind somewhere during the conversation. Frankly, before it. He wanted to suck dick. Not any dick; it had to be Harrington's. He wanted to suck Steve Harrington's dick in particular. He couldn't remember ever actually wanting to give a blowjob, except that one time in the car wash. He'd sucked a lot of dick in his time, but never for fun until he met Harrington. He'd fucked guys for fun, and been fucked by guys for fun, and had shared many dirty hand jobs in dark places, but blowjobs weren't something he'd ever felt a need to do off the clock. And yet here he was, throwing caution to the wind, crawling deeper into the bad idea that was giving in to how he felt about Harrington. Fucking idiot. He dug through the glove box until he found music he thought he could suck dick to. If he was going to keep hanging out with Harrington like this maybe he should make a dick sucking mix tape. Harrington's alt rock was probably better suited than Billy's heavy metal. Slayer lent itself poorly to dick sucking; he might end up biting. 

It took a bit of pointing and mild directions for Steve to find the parking lot, but very soon he pulled into it and parked. There was one other car there, with no one in it. He couldn't believe he was about to do this at this time of day. It was still light out. At the same time, the thought of another blowjob from Hargrove was just too tempting to resist, daylight be damned. The guy was just so damn good at it. The fact it was Billy Hargrove with Steve's dick in his mouth was still a turn on in itself too. He wasn't sure that would ever stop being a turn on. He looked over at Hargrove, who was looking back at him. He looked as horny as Steve felt. Steve risked a glance at his lap, and saw an erection there to match his own. Holy shit. Hargrove moved close enough to whisper in Steve's ear.  
“Pull your seat back, pretty boy.” He slowly licked up the shell of Steve's ear.   
Steve instantly turned into a whimpering puddle of horny goo. He was barely able to find his arm for long enough to do as he was told. As soon as he sat back Hargrove's hands were in his lap, opening his jeans. He got Steve to lift himself up so he could pull the pants down a little. The moment Steve's ass met the seat again Hargrove's mouth was on his cock.   
“Holy fucking shit, you're amazing.” It came out in a breathless groan.   
He felt the lips around his cock smile, and Hargrove made a pleased sound. The vibrations from the sound felt incredible. Steve wondered if he would ever be able to suck cock anywhere near as good as the other man could. He was almost completely positive he wouldn't be able to get anyone's cock as far down his throat as Hargrove had his right now. He probably shouldn't even try. Still, he wanted to try sucking Hargrove's cock at some point. He was sure of that now. He was also getting too distracted by Hargrove's ministrations to concentrate, so he decided to just stop thinking. 

The sounds coming out of Harrington were turning Billy on more than he'd been expecting. He'd already been hard before he started, and now he found himself trying to sneak a hand down his own pants to get a little relief. He was surreptitiously trying to turn to get access to his own fly when a hand pushed past his fingers and grabbed his crotch. He sucked in a surprised breath through his nose. Harrington was helping out. Fancy that. Together they managed to get the pants open and Billy's dick out. Harrington took hold of it and gave it a good squeeze before starting to slowly jerk it. Billy groaned; the sound muffled by Harrington's dick in his mouth. Billy let the other man take over and moved his hand back to grip the base of Harrington's dick while he sucked. God, this felt so damn good he had trouble understanding why he'd never sucked dick for fun before. He _did_ know, but that was beside the point right now. He used what he knew was a talented tongue, in many ways, to his full ability. He listened to the sounds Harrington made, and also felt his reactions via the hand on his own dick. It helped him figure out exactly where to put the pressure, whether to lick slow or fast on a spot, when to suck hard, and where and when to flick his tongue. He was getting familiar with Harrington's wants now, and his dick, in a way he'd never bothered to with customers. He was very good at sucking dick, he knew that for a fact, but it wasn't something he generally put a lot of thought and effort into. He had worked out a routine that worked 100% of the time, so why experiment? When he'd just gotten started with the job he'd taught himself to override his gag reflex, something that was difficult and _very_ uncomfortable, but he'd long since come to the conclusion it was wasted effort and a pointless skill. He'd never have bothered learning it now, given what he knew about dick sucking at this point. With Harrington, however, he found he wanted to experiment. He was cool with that. Apparently, Harrington wanted to experiment too, because he was doing really awesome things to Billy's dick right now. Billy would have been happy with plain jerking, but Harrington was doing interesting things with his thumb, and sliding his fingers to play with Billy's balls between pulls. He did it just fast enough that Billy's arousal kept building instead of fading. This blowjob thing was turning out to be a great fucking idea. 

Steve's mind was blown, and he hadn't even come yet. This might be his most homosexual moment to date. He didn't really know why he felt this way. Right now he was fondling a guy's cock and balls, while said guy was giving him beard burns on his thighs while sucking him off, and even though that ranked very high on the scale of homosexual behavior, he had been balls deep in said guy more than once. Hell, they'd even been in almost this exact position before, albeit high at the time. Still, he felt more like a homo than he ever had before, and he was actually okay with it. The more time he spent with Hargrove, the less need he felt to deny being into men. A few times now he'd even checked out other guys' asses when no one was looking. He didn't feel like fucking any of them, but he was becoming willing to accept there was physical attraction happening. It was different from attraction he'd felt toward women in the past. With women he'd been more intellectually attracted to them. Like, deciding he was attracted because they were pretty. The attraction toward men felt more like instinct, but he felt that was a bad word for it. It was more organic, with his gut involved more than his brain. It felt more like what it was supposed to feel like, even though he had no actual idea what _anything_ was supposed to feel like. He wasn't making sense, and when Hargrove scraped his teeth on the base of his cock he stopped trying to immediately. He yelped and looked down. Hargrove was grinning up at him with wet lips.  
“The fuck are you thinking about, pretty boy?”  
“What?” Steve felt confused, even though he knew what was going on.   
“You stopped jerking me off. Stop thinking and get back to it.”  
Steve stifled a snort before it could become a laugh.   
“Sorry. I was thinking about how much of a homo I am.”  
“I can't argue with that, but we don't have all night here.”  
Steve's response was to squeeze Hargrove's cock hard, and then resume his jerking; faster now. He was rewarded with Hargrove's lips wrapping themselves around his cock again. Fuck thinking. This was so much better. 

When they got back to it after the distraction Billy restarted his quest to make Harrington come first. Seeing how aroused he himself was, and getting more so with every pull of Harrington's hand on his dick, it wasn't a given that that was the order it would happen in. He probably wouldn't much mind either way, except he remembered what had happened the last time Harrington had come while holding Billy's dick, and he absolutely wanted to experience that again. He would definitely not admit to that out loud, but he definitely wanted it. His dick was already being gripped a little harder than was strictly necessary. He liked it, a lot. The fact Harrington was willing to be rough even when not in the middle of coming, or high, was a turn on too. It might be that he was too rough because he was inexperienced, but Billy chose to believe it was on purpose. It sure seemed like it was on purpose. Harrington's fingers slid gently through Billy's hair, before tightening their hold and pulling. Not hard enough to move Billy's head, but hard enough to make a point. It was like the guy was reading Billy's mind, because the point was taken; he was being rough on purpose. Billy rewarded him with a clean deep throat, that he held a while. His throat swallowed compulsively. It was far from comfortable, but the sounds he got from the other man made it worth it. It wasn't something he could do indefinitely, so he started moving again. He sucked faster and harder, trying to find where the border between intense and too much was. Harrington's grip on both his hair and his dick helped him find it quickly. He stayed on the line, only occasionally licking over the limit, and only for short moments. Harrington was falling apart, and Billy was about to start enjoying the completion of his mission, when Harrington slid his hand even further underneath Billy's body, found his hole, and shoved an almost completely dry finger halfway in. Billy's shout of surprise was muffled by the dick in his throat. The hand in his hair gripped tighter, making sure Billy couldn't pull completely off the dick he was sucking. Harrington pulled the finger out again, but almost immediately pushed two back in, hard, and in the process he put more pressure on Billy's testicles. Billy gave in and came all over Harrington's arm. He felt the head of his dick rub against the arm as it pulsed its load out. Fuck Harrington and his unconventional way of doing things. The man was incredible, and awesome, and that was as many adjectives as he could string together before his mouth was flooded with semen. He swallowed quickly, before it could overwhelm him. Even small amounts of cum could quickly feel like too much to swallow. It just had that kind of consistency. 

As he came back down Billy took a moment to reflect on how gay he was. Harrington had said he'd been distracted by thinking about how much of a homo he was. Billy had literally just come with two fingers in his ass and sperm in his mouth. Shit did not get much gayer than that. Okay, technically he'd started coming before the sperm in his mouth, but that was just nitpicking. A mouth full of cum had certainly not made him any less inclined to blow his load. At least not a mouthful of Harrington's cum. He was probably already fucked when it came to Harrington, if he were to be completely honest with himself. The trick would be to not let the man know. He sat up slowly, and looked at the wonderfully disheveled mess that was Steve Harrington at that moment. Pants open, dick softening in his lap, cum streaking the shirt on his right forearm, sweat trickling down from his hairline, dazed expression on his face. God, he was gorgeous. Billy buttoned up his own pants and helped Harrington with his. Neither tucked their shirts in. Billy was still in his jacket, and would probably be extra cold when he got back on the street, because he'd been sweating plenty too. Harrington looked down at his arm.   
“Good thing I'm going home after this. These stains are probably recognizable as cum.”  
“Only for someone used to seeing cum stains.”  
“So, probably any mother with a teenage son.”  
Billy laughed. That was so true. The amount of times a teenage boy could come in a day was impressive. Harrington started the car and started driving back. Billy lit them both a cigarette. Coming without having a cigarette after was against God, he was pretty sure. He was sure there was some commandment somewhere in the bible saying “thou shalt not orgasm without a subsequent smoke”. He rolled down his window, cold be damned, leaned back, and smoked with his eyes closed. Life was fucking good right now. He wasn't thrilled about working tonight after this, but right now he could ignore that and just fucking enjoy the moment. So he did. 

Steve parked right where he had picked Hargrove up. He wished they could ignore Billy having to work, but life was good at ignoring your wishes. He also had an irrational urge to tell him to quit working as a prostitute, and move in with him, so Steve could support him until he found a better job. My god, how stupid could a man be? Asking him to quit would be selfish, and hypocritical, and would probably be received about as well as a fist to the face. Steve would never actually ask him to quit, and not because he wanted him to himself. He'd never ask him to quit because Hargrove was perfectly capable of making his own choices, and Steve respected that, and respected him enough to not try to impose his will on him. If Hargrove was ever going to quit being a prostitute it was going to be entirely up to the man himself. Steve was going to suck it up and wait and see if that ever happened. He could live with that, and hopefully enjoy his services in the meantime; paid or otherwise. He looked at Hargrove and smiled. He got a smile in return that made his stomach do odd things. The man was gorgeous. 

Hargrove got out of the car, but leaned in to pick up his hat and have a last word. He looked completely content, and happy. It made Steve almost irrationally happy to see him look like that, like he was feeling real good.   
“You don't have to pay me. Definitely not for today, and not for tomorrow either.” Hargrove licked his bottom lip and winked. “I'm not gonna charge you to save your ass from your own stupidity.”  
Steve grinned at him. He was feeling awesome. Billy Hargrove had sucked his cock just because he could. How about that? He looked at Hargrove's ass as he walked back to where Steve had found him. The man could rock jeans like no one else, and the hat made Steve wonder if maybe he had a cowboy kink after all. He drove away before Hargrove turned around. The thought of having him in his apartment was exciting, and made him a little nervous. He probably wouldn't be nervous, except there were the stupid feelings he still couldn't shake. He worried he'd slip up somehow and reveal it. Well, he couldn't back out now, so he went home, to clean up his mess so the place could look presentable to visitors. He didn't go to the library. He trusted Hargrove's judgment more than his own when it came to this. He would listen to instructions and try not to screw shit up. He might even be okay with losing the bet now, considering he had already gotten a win out of it. Maybe tomorrow would bring even more goodies. If nothing else he'd get to hang out with Hargrove, and these days that felt a little like getting a reward; not that anyone should get a reward for being as stupid as he'd been. Though, if a blowjob from Billy Hargrove wasn't a reward, what really was? He grinned to himself and put on some music. He sang along the whole way home. It was just that kind of day.


	9. Chapter 9

Steve's work day the next day dragged on and on. He knew it was because he was excited and nervous. He'd spent the evening tidying, and discussing with himself whether he should make the place spotless, of if he should make it look like he wasn't making too much of an effort. He didn't want the place to actually be a mess, though it definitely had been when he'd started the cleaning, but he didn't want Hargrove to know how nervous he was about the visit. He'd decided on controlled littering. A coffee cup left on the living room table, along with an opened box of cookies and a bag of chips. A couple of t-shirts “carelessly tossed” over the back of the couch; clean ones from the closet, because he wouldn't want Hargrove to think he was dirty. He felt like an idiot for putting this much thought into it, but he wasn't able to shrug it off with “it's just Hargrove”, because it was _because_ it was Hargrove that he was acting like this. God, this was worse than trying to impress Nancy Wheeler, which was weird, because with Hargrove he could at least be fully himself, and not pretend to be good boyfriend material. Billy Hargrove was probably fully aware Steve wasn't good boyfriend material. Steve just had a nagging and idiotic little hope that he would ignore that and be Steve's boyfriend anyway. He'd never had a boyfriend before, and he had this idea it would be cool. Prejudice being what it was they wouldn't be able to really tell anyone, or show it in public in any way, but it would still be cool. He knew it wouldn't happen. Hargrove had made it perfectly clear shit like that wasn't going to happen. Ever. Steve still wanted it to. Stupid, but he couldn't deny it was true. Not to himself, at any rate. He could deny it to others, Hargrove included, and would if pressed. 

At 3:30 he made a vague excuse about his stomach to his boss and bounced. Having a near perfect attendance record made it easy to get off when he really wanted to, not that that was often. If it had been often his attendance record wouldn't be near perfect. He drove to the Burger King, hoping Hargrove wouldn't be late. When he got there he saw he hadn't needed to worry. Hargrove was early. He was standing against one of the windows, smoking, looking really cold. Steve was glad they could leave right away and that he didn't have to eat there. He was still worried he'd get an erection. Hargrove jumped into the car almost before it stopped.   
“I hope you weren't thinking we'd eat here.” Hargrove grinned, unaware he'd just mirrored Steve's thoughts. “I might get hard, and that might be a problem. Unless you're thinking we should have another trip to their bathroom.”  
“I can do without either today, thanks.” Steve smiled. He was glad he wasn't the only one thinking in that direction. “I expect we need to do some grocery shopping.”  
“We do, in fact. I made a list. It includes cigarettes.” There was a slight hesitation before the final sentence.   
“For you, that I'm paying for?” Steve gave him as much of a look as he could, sideways while mostly looking at the road.   
“Yes.” He sounded completely unapologetic now.   
“Mooch.” Steve scoffed, but wasn't upset.   
“Hey, I'm helping you bake here.”  
“I thought you said I wouldn't have to pay you.”   
“It's not payment. It's a token of gratitude.” There was laughter in Hargrove's voice, and it was infectious.   
Steve laughed and conceded. 

The shopping trip didn't take long, but Billy enjoyed every moment of it. It felt so normal to get groceries with Harrington. They had a cart, and Billy was picking out the things on the list, while Harrington made little comments and added random snacks. It felt almost domestic. Billy was able to convince him to get things to make dinner too. Pasta, spicy Italian sausage, Provolone cheese, and some stuff to bind it all together into dinner. Harrington expressed some concern about spicy stuff, but Billy wouldn't budge on the sausage. A guy needed some spice in his life, both figuratively and literally. To be nice he decided against adding chili flakes to the dish. Barely. It was a well kept secret that Billy loved to cook. He'd discovered the like when he'd been told to cook for Max when his dad and Susan weren't home, but it had been overshadowed by his anger that he'd been _forced_ to cook for her. After he'd moved in with Jaqueline and Nico he'd managed to put aside the anger and find real enjoyment in cooking, even the simple and cheap food they usually ate. It wasn't often he was willing to spend the money to make something fancy, so he took the chance now. It was also a chance to show off a little in front of Harrington. He'd found the recipe in a calendar at the library, and had written it down along with the recipe for the cheesecake, and then memorized both. He still had both with him, and the shopping list, just to be sure he didn't forget anything. 

When they got to the apartment, Billy could tell Harrington was nervous. It was an average oldish brick apartment building, but with noticeably higher standard than Billy's place. Harrington's place was on the third floor out of four. When they got inside it was clear Harrington either made a lot more money than Billy did, or he had much better priorities. It was bright, well furnished, and had a kitchen Billy wanted to live in. He also thought that either Harrington had the gay-interior-decorator-gene, or someone had helped him furnish the place. Shit was both style matched and color matched. There was a lot of cream and soft blue, with small patches of sand color that made everything seem both warmer and brighter. The curtains and throw pillows had a matching pattern, and suggested a woman had been involved. Guys didn't normally go for that throw shit. Jaqueline loved the damned things. She'd even infected Billy and Nico's rooms with them. Billy refused to admit he sort of liked them, even in his bed.   
“Shit, Harrington, did you hire someone to decorate your place?”  
“No...” He dragged it out in a way that suggested he didn't want to talk about it, which of course made Billy want to talk about it.  
“What then?”  
“You're gonna make fun of me.” Harrington hung his head dramatically. It was adorable.   
“Yes, but don't let that stop you.” Billy figured the apartment had probably been furnished by Harrington's mom or some girlfriend he'd had before hopping the fence, or even Nancy Wheeler, and he was embarrassed to admit it.   
“Well, my mom gave me some money for stuff when I moved, without telling my dad, and since I didn't have any furniture I went to shops and looked in catalogs.”  
“And?” Billy refrained from commenting that most young people who move out check second hand shops instead of catalogs.   
“And... I liked how these colors fit together, and shopped with that in mind.” The words came out in a rush and he winced as he said it, like he was expecting backlash.   
“That's what you were afraid to tell me?” Billy grinned and fought hard not to laugh. Gay gene. This was so good.   
“It's just so gay, isn't it?” He hung his head again, and Billy lost his fight against laughter.   
“Yes, it is, and it's funny as shit, but with you I think it might just be the rich kid in you who has a certain standard of interior design to uphold.”  
“I'd rather it be the gay in me, honestly.” Harrington laughed too. “I'd rather be the homosexual decorator than the preppy boy with expensive taste.”  
“High maintenance. I fucking knew it.”  
“Fuck off, Hargrove.” He was still laughing. “And that's rich coming from a guy who just had me buy _Italian_ sausage and Provolone for dinner.”  
“You'll love me for it when it's done. I promise.”  
Harrington stopped laughing and gave him a funny look that was quickly hid with a grin. He then started putting the groceries neatly on the counter, like nothing had happened. Billy wondered what he'd just said, but shrugged it off and started exploring the kitchen instead. 

Steve felt like an idiot. Hargrove said the word “love” and Steve's brain had short circuited. It was so stupid. It wasn't even in the right context. He put all the groceries on the counter and stepped back to see what they had. He hadn't paid much attention to what they bought, truth be told. He'd been too distracted feeling all domestic with Hargrove. It had been how he'd imagined shopping with a boyfriend might be. He really needed to give up on that bullshit. It was just difficult when the person you imagined in those kinds of situations was the person you were in said situation with. The smart thing to do was probably to not spend time with the man, but Steve really didn't want to be smart if that was the way he needed to go. He'd never been particularly bright anyway. He picked up the tub of cream cheese and looked at it. It was a really big tub. He'd almost forgotten they were baking. Almost. He looked at the other man.   
“So, what magical cheesecake is it you've found that will save me the embarrassment of losing the bet?”   
“So optimistic. You don't think you can _win_ the bet?”  
“I didn't want to needlessly pressure you.”  
Hargrove grinned and took the cream cheese from him. He put it on the counter and then pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. He handed it to Steve, who only vaguely knew how to read a recipe. The one for the cake wasn't long. The one for the pasta was.   
“We're making a Basque burnt cheesecake.”  
“I thought the deal with cakes is that you don't _burn_ them. Do you even bake cheesecakes?”  
“It's not actually burnt, but it sort of looks like it is.” Hargrove opened cupboards until he found mixing bowls and a measuring cup. “You bake it until it's brown all around the outside, and that caramelizes it. Supposed to taste amazing.”  
“Supposed to?” Steve raised his eyebrow.   
“I told you I've never made cheesecake before.” Now he rummaged around in the drawers until he found the utensils he needed. They'd bought a round cake pan, because Steve hadn't been able to remember if he owned one. He probably didn't.   
“So you decided to choose the most difficult one?”  
“It shouldn't be that hard. Besides, it'll surprise your colleagues. They'll see a brown cheesecake, and laugh, and then they'll taste it and be blown away.” Hargrove did a vague exploding gesture with his hands. “Totally satisfying moment.”  
“Providing we pull it off.” Steve took the cake pan to the sink to clean it before use.   
“Look who you're talking to.” Hargrove held out his arms in a pure display of 'look at me'. Steve nearly dropped the pan when he got distracted by the arm and chest muscles Hargrove showed off with the gesture. “Of course we'll pull it off.”  
Steve grinned, partly to hide that he was getting a little hard. He believed Hargrove and it was relieving to feel like someone had control of the situation. He sure as fuck didn't. Instead he opted to do something he knew.   
“Coffee? I can make a pot.”  
“Sure. Is it some fancy coffee?”  
Steve wasn't sure he should answer that. It actually was fancy coffee, that he bought at a coffee house not far from his apartment. It was part of his day off routine to go down there. He opted for grinning sheepishly and nodding. Hargrove laughed. 

By the looks of it this adventure was going to be even better than Billy had hoped. He was already having a blast, and he hadn't even started cooking yet. He put the cake recipe on the counter, where he could look at it when he needed to, and picked out the ingredients he needed from the stacked groceries. The cake was relatively simple. Not a lot of ingredients and no fancy things you had to do to make it work. The only thing the cook book had stressed was to mix in the eggs one at a time. Before he started he turned on the oven. You didn't want the batter ready and then have to wait 10 minutes for the oven to heat up. He started with cream cheese and sugar. A lot of cream cheese.   
“Hey, Harrington. You're gonna want to pay attention to what I'm doing.”  
“Yeah?”  
“What if they ask you how you made it? You don't want to let on that someone else made it for you.”   
“Good point. Though, still made by a dude, so the bet would still sort of be valid.”   
Billy snickered.  
“Naw, Molly, I hired a prostitute to make the cake for me. While it was baking he gave me a blowjob.”  
“Molly?” Harrington laughed.   
“First name that came to mind.” Billy shrugged, but couldn't keep a straight face.   
“ _Will_ you give me a blowjob while it's baking?” He gave Billy a very suggestive look.   
“You know, you didn't actually hire me.” Truth be told Billy wouldn't mind at all giving Harrington a blowjob while the cake was baking, but he wasn't about to just admit that.   
“Doesn't mean I can't have a blowjob, does it?” Harrington grinned in a confident way that made Billy want to kiss him. That was definitely something he needed to reel in.   
“You do like the blowjobs, don't you?” Billy pretended like he wasn't feeling weird things.   
“You give really good blowjobs.”  
“How about _you_ give _me_ one?” Billy threw it out as a challenge. One he knew Harrington would back off from.   
Instead of stammering and getting flustered, Harrington got a mischievous look in his eyes and smirked. He said nothing, but stepped closer to see what Billy was doing up close. 

Hargrove grabbed the tub of cream cheese and put a little over half of it in the bowl.   
“That's a shitload of cream cheese,” said Steve almost in awe. “But why only use half?”  
“We're making two cakes. Hence the large tub and the little pack to make up the difference on the second one.”  
“Why are we making two?” Steve loaded the question with suspicion.   
“We have to taste one to make sure it's good. Right?” Hargrove grinned widely and licked his bottom lip.   
“You just want cake.” Steve grinned back.  
“I definitely want cake.” He started squishing the cream cheese around in the bowl. “But really, since neither of us has made cheesecake before, taste testing is definitely a good idea.”  
“Yeah, you're probably right.” Steve nodded.  
“Definitely right.” Hargrove lifted a finger in correction.  
“Definitely right.” Steve bent to the other man's superior knowledge.   
Steve watched him add sugar to it and mix it until it turned into a whitish cream. He couldn't help but think it looked a little like creamy sperm, but didn't comment on it. Hargrove added a little bit of salt and one egg.  
“We're putting more eggs in, but the recipe specifies one at a time and mixing well between each one.”  
“Okay, cool. I'll be sure to emphasize that if they ask about it, so it sounds like I know what I'm talking about.” Steve grinned and nudged Hargrove gently with his arm. He was nudged back, and it felt good in a way that had nothing to do with how Hargrove's arm felt against his.   
Hargrove added all the eggs, one at a time as specified, and then a large amount of heavy cream. He mixed it well and then started looking around the counter.  
“I probably should have gotten this ready first. Where's the cake pan?”  
“I rinsed it off. It's by the sink.”  
“Cool. Baking paper?”  
“Uh, I should have that somewhere...”  
“Somewhere?”  
“Relax, I have it. I may not cook much, but I do sometimes make pizza and frozen shit.”  
Hargrove raised an eyebrow that said he was contemplating commenting on the word “shit”. Steve held up a finger to stop him and say he knew what he was thinking, then quickly dug the paper out of a drawer. It wasn't in the first drawer he checked, but it was close. 

After some fiddling around with the baking paper and probably too much butter, Billy managed to get the cake pan ready to pour the batter in. He double checked the recipe to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Not that there was much to forget. Harrington checked the recipe too.   
“Wait, that's it? That's barely any ingredients at all.”  
“I know. Cool, isn't it?” Billy grinned and put the cake in the oven.   
He then started getting things ready for the pasta dish. He was hungry, and was willing to guess the other man was too. Harrington gently nudged him and handed him a cup of coffee. A coffee break before cooking wasn't a bad thing. He hadn't done enough to really warrant a break, but that was no reason not to have one. He looked at the other man as they both leaned against the counter and drank their coffee in silence. He was comfortable like this. No pressure, nowhere he needed to be anytime soon, no need to pretend he was better than he was. He wasn't expected to be anything other than his asshole self, and it was comfortable. It was just him and Harrington, hanging out and making food together. It was nice. Better than nice. He had nice days of hanging out with his roommates, but this was different. This felt more like 'hanging out with your boyfriend' category, even though he knew Harrington was not his boyfriend and never would be. Billy had had a few boyfriends in his time, and girlfriends, but nothing had come even close to going anywhere. He wondered if something with Harrington could go anywhere. It felt like it could, but he was biased, and it was a moot point anyway. It was time to stop thinking bullshit.   
“This is really good coffee.”  
“Yeah, there's a great coffee place down the road. This is the house blend.” Harrington looked into his cup, like it held a good secret, then took a slow sip.   
Billy liked looking at it, but just had to poke at the guy.   
“I'll be honest with you. I have no standards when it comes to coffee. I'll drink the instant shit if it's there and has caffeine in it.”  
“Heathen.”  
Billy chuckled. Harrington lifted the sausage pack and held it out.  
“You're picky when it comes to this stuff, but not coffee? Do your taste buds turn off when there's caffeine involved?”  
“Pretty much.” Billy shrugged, making an effort to look extra disinterested.   
“I'm gonna fucking convert you, and the gods of coffee will repair your flawed tongue.” Harrington pointed at him in a way that was as lecturing as a librarian telling kids to shut up in the library.   
“My tongue isn't flawed. It's just specialized for other things.” Billy licked his lips in a way he knew said everything he wanted to say about having a specialized tongue.   
Harrington made a tiny little whimpering sound. It went straight to Billy's groin, and he took it as a sign it was time to start cooking. 

When Hargrove started the water boiling for the pasta Steve made a quick decision he hoped he wouldn't regret later. He had a feeling he wouldn't. He went to “accidentally” leave a little bag of flavored condoms in view in the living room. He'd picked them up a couple of days after the idea first hit him, and then done nothing about it. He had two flavors; caramel and cherry. He had higher hopes for cherry being a good flavor, so he would try that one first, providing Hargrove was game. He had not taste tested them. He'd considered it, but it had felt like taking it too far. He also hadn't practiced sucking something else. That had definitely felt like taking it too far. No fucking way was he doing a dry run on a fake dick, or, god forbid, a cucumber. He'd rather be embarrassed choking on a cock. Hargrove's cock, hopefully; he'd understand why Steve was choking, if it happened. He put the bag on a couch cushion, to make it look like it had been forgotten there. He'd make sure Hargrove ended up on that couch eventually today. They did have two cakes to bake, and the couch was a good place to wait for the second one to finish. He hurried back to the kitchen. Hargrove was shredding the cheese into a bowl. There was sliced sausage on a plate next to him, and there was a pot on the stove with onions sizzling gently in it. Steve went over and stole a pinch of Provolone.  
“Hey! Patience, asshole.” Hargrove actually smacked Steve's hand. It was just hard enough to be cute.   
“I'm pretty sure the dish won't miss the tiny bit of cheese I just took.”   
“That's not the point. The point is to not sneak food before dinner.”  
Steve did something he didn't think he had in him. He just couldn't help himself. He stepped behind Hargrove and put his hands on his hips, then put his chin on his shoulder.   
“Should I sneak something else before dinner, then?” He spoke low, purposefully close to Hargrove's ear.   
Hargrove took a deep shaky breath that sounded like it came from below his stomach.   
“God damn it, Harrington.” The words were barely over a murmur. “I'm trying to cook here.”   
Steve stepped away from him, unhurriedly.  
“Need help with anything?”   
“You know how to cook pasta?” Hargrove resumed the cheese grating.   
“I do, actually.” Steve went over to the pot of boiling water. “Did you salt it?”  
“Yep. Just need to put the pasta in.”  
“Complicated. I don't know how you can trust me with it.”  
Hargrove apparently had decided on revenge, because he quickly turned around and put his arms around Steve's waist from behind.  
“Efficiency.” He spoke so close to Steve's ear he could feel the vibrations from the deep murmur. “The faster we get done with dinner the faster we can go do something else.” He licked up Steve's neck to his ear.   
“Fuck...” It was not a suggestion. It was just the only word Steve felt coherent enough to voice.   
“Yes. So let's get cooking.” He slapped Steve's ass and went over to stir the onion.   
Steve took a steeling breath and picked up the box of pasta. 

When the food was done and they were sitting down to eat Billy used the excuse of checking on the cake to take a moment to just look at the other man. Today, hanging out in Harrington's apartment and making food together, had convinced Billy more than anything that he was well and truly fucked when it came to Steve Harrington. He was just so much fun to be around. Billy had never gotten the concept of “complementing each other” before, but that's what it felt like. And it felt like they could spend a lot of time in each other's company without getting sick of each other. They probably couldn't spend a lot of time together without bickering, but Billy couldn't see that getting boring anytime soon. The cake looked like it was progressing fine, so he sat down to eat. They dug in. Billy was really happy with how the food turned out. It was just as tasty as he'd hoped it would be when he'd read the recipe. Harrington looked like he had no complaints either.  
“You like it?”  
“It's fucking delicious.” He said it around the food in his mouth, which somehow wasn't disgusting to Billy. It was cute. “I'm glad you convinced me to get the spicy sausage.”  
“I didn't convince you. I overrode you.” Billy lifted an eyebrow to underline the point.   
“Same difference.” Harrington shrugged.   
“I'll remember you said that, and find some way to use it against you later.” Billy grinned at him in a way he knew was wicked, and stuck out his tongue for good measure.   
“Asshole.” Harrington grinned as he said it.   
“So what are we doing after? I mean, the cake still had a good twenty minutes before it's done baking, and then we're making another one.”  
Harrington paused to swallow before talking.   
“ _You're_ making another one, you mean.”   
“Nope, you're gonna be more hands on on this one.” Billy pointed at him with a piece of sausage impaled on his fork. “Gotta win the bet fair and square.”  
“And what if I screw it up?”  
“Then you bring the cake I made. Simple.” He shrugged and smiled.   
“Simple.” Harrington didn't sound convinced.   
“You saw how few ingredients there were. It's hard to screw that up.”  
“You haven't seen me cook.”  
“Didn't you babysit all the time back in Hawkins?” Billy thought about Max and the Goonies, who had stuck to Harrington like confused ducklings.   
“I babysat _sometimes_. And the kids were big. And it was seldom enough that PB&J was good enough dinner.”  
“You gave kids sandwiches for dinner?”  
“Sometimes instant noodles, or pasta with bought sauce.” It sounded like a defense.   
“And you called _me_ a heathen. Buying pasta sauce is blasphemy.” Billy pointed dramatically.   
“Then I guess you're gonna have to teach me how to make it. Convert me.” He grinned, looking like he thought he'd lured Billy into a trap. It was a trap Billy didn't mind being in.   
“I can do that.” Billy grinned, feeling probably happier than he should at the prospect of cooking with Harrington again. “I can definitely do that.”   
“How did you know I babysat?” There was suddenly a small frown on Harrington's face.   
Billy didn't quite want to admit that his mild obsession with teenage Harrington had included finding out what he did outside school. He'd asked Max some “I'm not really interested, but” questions he still didn't know if she'd seen through.   
“I heard it from some dude at school. Can't remember who. I mean, it was ages ago.” Billy ate more food and hoped that was the end of that line of questions. 

When the food had been eaten, Steve considered trying to think of something useful for them to do to pass time, but he knew it would be wrong. They were already doing useful things. They needed something not useful to even it out.  
“How about we watch a movie or something? I have snacks, and a timer.”  
“Timer ?”  
“In case we lose track of time.” He didn't add “duh”, because that would have been just a little too rude.   
“Smart move. You learn that from experience?” Hargrove's grin said he was confident Steve had learned from burning things in the oven after getting distracted.   
Steve wisely didn't answer. That was exactly it. A couple of extra crispy pizzas, and more notably a tray of cookies. They'd been too burned to even eat while stoned. Remembering you had something in the oven because you started smelling something almost on fire was not confidence building when it came to cooking. On the whole, cooking while stoned was not clever. These days he stuck to sandwiches. Having a weakness for peanut butter made it not feel like an inferior option.   
“I have a very important question for you, Harrington.” Hargrove sounded very serious.  
“What is it?” Steve wondered if he should be worried.  
“Can I smoke in here, or do I have to go outside and get frostbite?” He pointed at the windows with his thumb.   
“People go outside to smoke?” Steve knew this was a thing, but he wanted to be funny, so he made an effort to sound incredulous.   
“Some people don't want the smell to get stuck to the walls.” Hargrove lifted an eyebrow. “Much like someone I know with a Mercedes he doesn't want to smell like ashtray.”  
“Yeah, but I still smoke in it.” He shrugged. “Just with the windows open.”  
“The same applies here?” Hargrove looked toward a window, probably thinking about how cold it was outside.   
“More room for the smoke to float around in here, so no need to freeze our balls off. There's an ashtray on the table by the couch.”   
“Excellent. Tidy now or after a smoke?” Hargrove pointed between the table and the living room couch.   
“Now, please. It'll make the cigarette taste better.”  
“I'm not sure I believe that.” Hargrove finished the water he'd had with his food. He'd refused a beer, so as to not interfere with the flavor of the food. “You know, somehow it doesn't surprise me you're that kind of person.”  
“What kind of person?” Steve mock glared at him.   
“The kind of person who keeps a really clean home.”  
“I'm not _that_ bad. I'm just worried the cheese sauce will get stuck to things.” Steve felt he should defend himself, and he really wasn't that bad.   
“Yeah, sure, whatever.” He grinned and picked up both their plates. 

They made short work of the dishes. Steve had already cleaned pots and bowls while Hargrove cooked. He didn't like leaving dirty things in the sink for later. God, he hoped that wasn't a gay thing. When they were done they checked the cake. Hargrove judged it needed a little more time, so they took beers, coffee, and cigarettes into the living room, and flopped down next to each other on the couch. They lit up their respective cigarettes and sighed in contentment, almost in sync. Hargrove made an amused sound.   
“What?”  
“You might have been right the cigarettes taste better, judging by our reaction to it.”  
Steve chuckled. He put the ashtray in reach of both of them on the table, and picked up the remote for the TV.   
“You wanna channel surf, or should we spend the next forty minutes trying to decide which of my movies to put on?”  
“If it only takes forty minutes to decide you can't have many movies.”   
“How many do you have, then?”  
“Probably a lot fewer than you.” He raised and eyebrow and smirked. “What do you have then, pretty boy?”  
Steve pointed to one of his bookshelves. It was stuffed with VHS tapes. The other bookshelf contained books, and quite a few comics. He blamed the kids for both his taste in comics and his taste in books. There were a few more serious books in there, that he was sort of hoping Hargrove wouldn't notice. Text books pertaining to the job he sort of hoped he could have one day, that he'd bought with the thought that maybe some day he'd do something about it. Hoping they'd somehow make him smarter. It was silly, but he hadn't been able to get rid of them, or even really wanted to, and he did read them. But he didn't want to talk about them with Hargrove. He wanted to do completely different things with him. Things it was best to wait with until the second cake was in the oven. Speaking of, it was probably time to take the first one out.   
“Check on the cake?”  
“I was just thinking the same thing.” Hargrove put out his cigarette and got up. Steve followed. 

The cake was done, and Billy took it out. The top of it was dark brown. They put it aside to cool.   
“Should I start making the next cake?” Steve couldn't help feeling hesitant. Hargrove had made it look easy, but the guy had always had a talent for making everything look easy.   
“We have to wait until the first cake is cooler. We only have one pan. Should have bought two. This cake should really be completely cold before taking it out.”  
“I can go out to get one. It's not far to a store that probably has one.”  
“You know, that might be a good idea.” Billy didn't want to encourage Harrington to spend more money, but waiting for the cake to cool enough to take it out could take all night.   
“I'll go get one then.” He started for the door right away, but paused to point to Billy. “Don't break anything while I'm gone.”   
“You're not worried I'll steal anything?”  
“Naw. I'd notice, and you said you wanted cake.” He grinned.   
Billy laughed. It was a combination of what Harrington had said, and being trusted by him. It was nice to feel trusted. Harrington left, and Billy was left alone in his apartment. He decided to explore. Just because he was trusted didn't mean he could be. He wouldn't steal anything from Harrington, ever, but he could nose around and learn some more about the guy. He started with the bedroom. The room was a revelation. The bed was big, had too many pillows, and the whole thing was covered in black satin. The walls were a dark bluish gray, and the room was accented in red. There were candles scattered around on small shelves containing books and cassette tapes, and larger candles on the bedside tables. He found a couple of panther statuettes on one shelf, and some weird looking black thing on a red base that looked like two adults with a kid made out of paint drips. The closet was built into the wall, and there were red accents on that too. There was a stereo system on the wall opposite the bed. Above it were three large framed collages of alt rock band posters, hung so it looked like they were part of a series. The room looked like it belonged in an up scale porno movie. All that was missing were mirrors on the ceiling. He looked up in case they were there and he'd missed them. He opened the closet to find neatly put away clothes. Shirts, jackets, and even t-shirts were hanging side by side, but not mixed together. It was like it was categorized. All the clothes on the shelves were neatly folded. Billy looked around, but couldn't find the customary “I can't decide what to wear” or “can't be assed putting it in the hamper right now” or “I can maybe use this again before cleaning it” piles, or pile, that in his opinion belonged in a bedroom. Either Harrington wasn't natural, or he'd cleaned up everything before Billy came over. He hoped it was the latter. 

Next was the bathroom. It was a mix of soft mossy green and white. The walls looked like tile, but were vinyl. The floor was vinyl as well. It was nice to see the place wasn't completely upscale, with real tiles and everything. For the first time he wondered if Harrington owned the place or rented it. It seemed like a lot of work to put into a rental apartment, but at the same time it didn't seem like Harrington had so much money he could buy a place. Who bought an apartment anyway? Maybe his mom had set something up. It seemed she'd done that a lot. Billy pushed away the bitterness that crept in when he thought about his own mom, who had happily bailed on him after his parents divorced. Truth be told, she'd mostly bailed on him long before then, even though she'd still been physically around some of the time. Billy hadn't seen her even once since before they moved to Hawkins. Had never even tried to find her when he ran away. He shook it off and opened the cabinet under the sink. It had the usual suspects. Cleaning supplies, toilet paper, random packet of things that didn't fit in the upper cabinets. The upper cabinets were slightly more interesting, but not by much. Shaving foam, razors, moisturizers, a small stock of Farrah Fawsett shampoos, conditioners, and even some hair spray. The brand was interesting, but even the presence of hair spray wasn't remarkable. Billy used it too. There were no fancy pills. Either Harrington kept them elsewhere, or he was happy using the occasional over the counter painkiller. Billy was willing to bet on the latter. The most fun things in the cabinets were condoms and a not insignificant amount of lube. He wondered if it would be presumptuous to bring them to the living room. There was nothing more interesting in the bathroom, so he moved to the living room. 

The first thing he checked in the living room was the bookshelf that contained books. Two shelves were full of just comics. So full they were almost sagging. He carefully extracted a few. Superhero and fantasy and monster stuff. No big surprise, really. The books were much the same. Harrington read shit teenagers liked, and Billy had a good idea where it came from. It was cute. The bottom shelf was where the really interesting stuff was. There were school books. Math, English, history, geography, biology, and physical education. Was Harrington thinking about going back to school? Hadn't he said at one point he was never any good at school? Why would Billy even remember that? Maybe because it annoyed him that Harrington thought he was stupid. Billy looked through a couple, and found sticky notes with comments and questions pasted on lots of pages. He also found some notebooks he paged through. Harrington had really put work into this. Billy made a mental note to ask him about it. Maybe some time after he'd roped him into some kind of activity that ended in both of them having orgasms. He put the books back, and remembered he hadn't gone through the bedside table drawers. He got up to do that when he heard Harrington grab the door handle to the front door. Billy quickly flopped down on the couch and was lighting a cigarette when the other man came in.   
“Hey, Harrington. Get what we needed?”  
“I did, and then I got ice cream too.” He lifted the grocery bag he was holding.  
“You're amazing. Let's make cake and then binge in front of the TV.”  
Harrington led the way to the kitchen. Billy put out his cigarette before following. He didn't want smoke smell to get on the cakes. 

There was something deceptively casual about how Hargrove was sitting on the couch. Steve was relatively sure he'd been doing things he wasn't supposed to be doing. He wasn't worried anything had gone missing, but he was mildly worried his bedside table had been snooped in. Not that Hargrove didn't already know he was a pervert. He wouldn't worry more about it now. He had plenty enough to worry about with the cake he was supposed to make. He sure as hell hoped Hargrove would talk him through it in detail. He'd watched it get made, but he still wasn't confident he'd be able to make it himself.   
“You sure I'll be able to do this?”  
“Yes. Start with the cream cheese.”   
Steve did as he was told. Hargrove did talk him through it, and before long the batter was ready to be poured into the cake pan. This time it was Hargrove who had washed it off beforehand. Steve had as much trouble getting the baking paper into the pan as the other man, but he got it fixed, got the batter in, and got it into the oven. He set the timer and took it with him to the living room. Hargrove had set things up in there with beer, ice cream, and the chips and cookies Steve had left out earlier. He'd also found some chocolate Steve had had at the back of a kitchen drawer. He'd forgotten he had it and hoped it was still edible. He couldn't remember when he'd bought it. They sat down on the couch and both put their legs on the table. Steve pondered making a comment about how Hargrove hadn't asked for permission first, but he found he didn't care enough. He turned on the TV. After surfing a while they both came to the conclusion there was nothing to watch. Steve went over to his movie shelf.   
“What are you in the mood to watch?”  
“I dunno. Action movie, maybe?”  
Steve pulled his finger across the backs of the covers until he touched one that looked interesting.   
“How about Robocop?”  
“Perfect! Direct hit. Let's watch it.”  
Steve put it in the player, hoping he'd rewound it, and put it on. 

Five minutes into the movie Steve stole a look down to where the bag of condoms was still sitting, between them on the couch, halfway hidden between the cushions. Hargrove hadn't noticed it. Or if he had he'd chosen to not say anything about it. Steve tried to figure out how to best bring it up. He wasn't actually interested in watching the movie, even though he was a big fan of Peter Weller. He'd seen it at least twelve times anyway. Hell, even with a cock in his mouth he was sure he could tell where he was in the movie just by sound. He opted for “accidentally” knocking it over so it hopefully touched the other man some place he'd notice. God, who'd have thought he'd ever in his whole life want to suck cock enough that he tried to make it happen on his own initiative. Fuck, was he ever gay. He didn't know how he could have ever doubted it. He could technically just come out and tell the man he wanted to suck his cock, but that would be pulling it too far. He could admit it if asked a direct question, but he didn't think he could just say it without being pushed. He tried to surreptitiously nudge the bag, but found it was resistant to being moved, since it was partly pushed between the cushions. Well shit. Now what? He tried another nudge, but all he succeeded in was making the bag crinkle. Hargrove looked down to where the sound had come from. Without saying anything he pulled the bag up from between the cushions and looked in it. After about two seconds a big grin spread across his face. Steve felt simultaneously embarrassed, aroused, and relieved. He couldn't complain about the result, even though it hadn't quite gone according to plan.   
“You have plans for tonight, Harrington?” The grin was still there when Hargrove looked at Steve.   
“Maybe?” Steve bit his bottom lip, not sure how deep to wade in yet.  
“Do those plans involve me?” Hargrove looked at Steve's lips and then licked his own.   
The sight made Steve's cock stir.   
“Maybe.” Steve was sure his expression made it quite clear his plans did indeed involve him.   
They looked at each other a moment, and then Hargrove took a deep breath.  
“Fuck this.”  
Before Steve could ask what he meant he was being kissed. He sucked in a breath through his nose in surprise. Holy fuck, he was being kissed by Billy Hargrove, and holy fuck it was good. Without even thinking about it Steve tried to kiss back as good as he got. Hargrove's tongue was hot, wet, and fucking demanding. So were his lips. He sucked on Steve's bottom lip roughly. It was much less hurried and desperate than last time. There was no reason to be doing this. Nothing that needed to be hid or controlled. This was kissing just for the sake of kissing. It was fucking amazing. Steve gave himself over to it; not thinking or worrying. 

This wasn't something Billy had planned on doing when he was picked up to make cake today, but he definitely didn't regret throwing caution to the wind. This was better than he'd expected. Not that he'd expected it for long, considering he only decided to do it seconds before actually doing it. It was probably more accurate to say it was better than he'd hoped it would be when imagining what it might be like kissing the other man; when he was alone in his bedroom, thinking about how much trouble he was in when it came to Harrington. He was definitely not in any less trouble now, but right now he didn't care. Right now what he cared about were Harrington's lips, tongue, and hands. One hand was on Billy's hip, and the other had crept up to his neck. Billy resisted the urge to slip a hand down to Harrington's crotch. The kissing was too good to pull further yet. He needed some time to just enjoy it on its own. Harrington's mouth felt hotter than Billy's, and his tongue _wanted_ things from him. Billy wanted to give it what it wanted. All of it. He decided to throw caution to the wind again. Without breaking the kiss he moved until he was straddling Harrington's lap. He could feel he was hard. Billy was hard too. He started grinding his hips slowly. For a moment he felt like a teenager, because his own movements made him groan in pleasure. Harrington moaned into the kiss in response. Making out on a couch in front of the TV was kind of a teenager thing to do too. He was perfectly okay with that. If his mouth wasn't so occupied he'd be on his way to panting right now. God, he was so fucking turned on. He was grinding harder now; bordering on rough. Harrington pushed him away just far enough to be able to talk. Billy was expecting him to tell him to be more gentle.  
“I want to suck you off.” It came out breathless.   
Billy was instantly just as breathless. “Fuck...”  
“Is that a yes?” A little more in control of his vocal chords now, but only a little.   
“Fuck yes. Absolutely fucking yes.” Billy was practically panting it out. Steve Harrington was fucking awesome. Billy was going to make sure he knew it. 

Steve pushed Hargrove back until he was sitting on the couch, and pushed the table back until he could sit on the floor in front of him. He didn't want to bend over on the couch to reach. Then he got the bag with the condoms in it. He was so turned on the world was almost hazy. Like he could come any minute, just from thinking about what he was about to do. He supposed he should be more nervous, but right now he just wanted it. He got the cherry flavor box out of the bag and opened it, but before he could take one out it was snatched from him.   
“Sorry, Harrington, but you're gonna do the caramel flavor, because I don't want my dick tasting like cherry.”  
“I love cherries.” Steve was disappointed. He'd been looking forward to trying the cherry flavor.  
“I don't. My dick's either gonna be au naturel, or it's going to taste like melted sugar. Your choice. I wouldn't recommend the first option.”  
“Yeah, no offense, but I don't know where it's been.” Steve looked up at him to see if he'd said something wrong. By the looks of it he hadn't.  
“Frankly, neither do I.” Hargrove started laughing before he was all the way through the sentence.   
Steve relaxed. He was still hard, and so was the other man, so he busied himself getting Hargrove's cock out of his pants. He got help, and soon his face was closer to a naked cock than it had ever been in his life. Oddly, he still wasn't nervous. He was excited, and a little fascinated. The skin was smooth, and the head was reddish and a little shiny. Blood vessels made little ridges all over it. Steve had had a cock his whole life, but he'd never seen one up close before. He wasn't sure he could call it pretty, but it sure as fuck was arousing. He heard small crinkling and looked up to see Hargrove unwrapping the condom. He noticed Steve looking.   
“Considering the issues you had last time, I thought I'd be nice and put it on for you.”  
“Fuck you,” Steve said while grinning. He couldn't deny the guy was right, and it was nice of him.   
Caramel smell hit him as Hargrove rolled it on smoothly. The guy clearly had practice doing it. Steve didn't mind. Right now he thought it was cool. The condom was tinted slightly golden. He supposed it was to show what flavor it was. You know, in case you had a bunch of opened condoms lying around in a pile, so that you couldn't read the wrapper, or box. The condom made it look like Hargrove's cock had a tan. It looked nice. Hargrove sat back and let his hands drop to his sides. By the looks of it he was going to let Steve figure it out himself. It was something Steve was grateful for. He wanted to explore at his own leisure; as much as was possible when he was simultaneously trying to make another man come.   
“Anytime, pretty boy.”  
“Shut up. Don't be so impatient.” Steve grabbed the base of Hargrove's cock with three fingers.   
“We have a cake in the oven. I want to come before it burns.”  
“I thought the point to that cake _was_ to burn it.”  
“Harrington, I'm gonna level with you here. I'm about to come just from the damn thought of you having my dick in your mouth, so if you want to suck it before I blow my load you're gonna have to hop to it.”   
Steve's cock hardened more when he heard that confession. He took a moment to open his pants and give it some room, before leaning forward to experimentally lick at the head of the cock in front of him. It tasted more like real caramel than he had expected. He wrapped his lips around the tip and sucked gently while licking. Hargrove made a sound that made Steve want to suck harder, so he did. 

In Billy's opinion this day was fucking stellar. When he'd thought to get Harrington to do dirty stuff with him this had not been on the list of possibilities. Sure, he'd really wanted to be the test bunny for Harrington's first attempt at dick sucking, but he'd never thought it would actually happen. He'd figured the guy was years away from crossing that particular line. Hell, at this rate Billy might actually get to fuck him before summer rolled around. Fucking could definitely wait, because Harrington had just sucked the whole head of Billy's dick into his mouth, and he was showing clear talent. Thinking got more difficult the more pleasure he felt, and the other man was going at it in all the right ways. He didn't rush, didn't try to push himself too far. He was exploring, and he paid attention to Billy's reactions. Fuck, it was nice to be paid attention to. Whenever he made a sound indicating he felt good Harrington did it again, as if to confirm he'd been the cause of it. Billy did his best to encourage this behavior, and ended up being more vocal than he usually was. Harrington sucked more dick into his mouth and bobbed his head up and down a few times; checking what it was like. Billy resisted the urge to push back, but it took willpower. What he really wanted to do was grab the guy's hair and fuck his face with abandon. Instead he grabbed at the couch cushion, but there was nothing for his fingers to get hold of. He ended up scraping his nails on the fabric as he involuntarily closed his hands in time with the slow sucking. 

So far being a cocksucker was very interesting, and fucking hot. Steve quickly found he really enjoyed the feeling of a big hot cock in his mouth. It was firm and smooth, almost at the point of unforgiving as it slid in and out between his lips. He was careful not to scrape his teeth against it. Maybe some day when he was more experienced he could try to find out how much teeth scraping Hargrove could handle. He'd gotten the impression Hargrove was somewhat turned on by rough behavior, and maybe a little pain. Maybe a lot turned on. Steve was turned on by turning the other man on, and he was hard enough that one of his hands was now on his own cock, stroking in time to his sucking. Maybe he'd suck cock better if he used both hands to help out, but he needed some relief or he wouldn't even be able to focus on it. He decided it was time to test just how far down his throat he was able to get the cock. He went at it slowly and carefully. It turned out to not be far at all, before the dreaded gag reflex kicked in. He managed not to embarrass himself too much. He'd been slow, so the feeling of gagging was only mild. He sucked the cock in and out a few slowly to test just where his limit was. When he'd found it he moved faster, and sucked a little harder. He used his free hand to help out where he couldn't reach with his mouth. God, he was properly sucking cock now. Head bobbing, slurping sounds, little moaning sounds. The works. Steve fucking Harrington was now an actual real fucking cocksucker, and he found he really fucking liked it. The sounds and small jerking movements told him Hargrove really fucking liked it too. It made Steve feel like he wasn't screwing up. It boosted his confidence every time a small thrust of Hargrove's hips met him on the way down. His mind felt he could do this for a very long time, but his jaw was not in agreement. His jaw wasn't even sure he could keep this up until the other man came. He was sure as fuck going to try. He let go of his own cock, and took hold of Hargrove's balls. 

When Harrington's hand started rubbing under his testicles, Billy knew he wouldn't last long. Frankly he was a little surprised he'd lasted this long. Harrington was a fucking natural at sucking dick. Billy wasn't sure he should tell him. Being a natural at dick sucking probably wasn't a compliment. Billy had done worse his first time having a dick in his mouth, but in his defense he'd been younger, drunk, and it had happened in a bathroom stall at a gay bar. He'd also been paid for it. Paid well, if he remembered correctly. Harrington got the rhythm down, between hands and mouth, and Billy spread his legs more without even thinking about it. Pleasure was making it difficult to think, and breathe. Heat filled his entire lower body, and the familiar glorious tension build up in him. He started panting; the uneven bursts of air that was a sure sign an orgasm was seconds away. And it sure as fuck was, because only moment later he was coming. To his credit Harrington only missed a small beat in surprise, and he kept sucking while Billy rode it out. At the point of coming Billy finally lost control enough that he grabbed Harrington's hair. He was able to stop himself from pushing his head down, but he was sure he held on too tight. He loosened his hold as he came down, but didn't let go of Harrington's face, even as he let Billy's softening dick slip from his lips with a wet sound. They looked at each other. Billy used his hands to pull the other man up just enough that Billy could lean down and kiss him. He tasted faintly of caramel. It felt so good to kiss him. He wanted to do it more, but he pulled back anyway.   
“So how did I do?” Harrington's shy smile when he said it made Billy kiss him more.   
“Fucking amazingly.”  
Instead of saying anything Harrington bit his bottom lip in a way that said he felt good, and then slid the condom off Billy's now limp dick. He tied it up and then just dropped it on the floor next to him. Billy grinned. Not so tidy all the time. 

Steve looked back up at Hargrove after dropping the condom he couldn't be assed dealing with yet. He was still really hard and wondered if they were going to do anything about it. He felt fucking awesome, but he was sure he'd feel even more awesome after an orgasm. He licked his lips. It had been a strange feeling to feel the cock pulse between his lips when Hargrove came. He wondered what it might taste like to have come flood his mouth. All he'd tasted was caramel and latex.   
“You know, I've never tasted what come taste like.”  
“Really? Not even your own?”  
“No, especially not my own. I've never been _that_ curious.” Steve didn't find the thought of tasting his own sperm even remotely appealing. He'd rather taste someone else's. Well, Hargrove's.   
“You can get to taste what sucking a dick tastes like. Right now.” Hargrove grinned.   
“Really? I thought that was a bad idea. Besides, you're all limp now.” Steve nodded towards Hargrove's cock, that was still out in the open. His own cock was slowly deflating, still out in the open too, even though he still wanted very much to come.   
“I'm not talking about mine.”  
Steve gave him a look that was meant to convey that he wasn't sure he wanted to know what came next.   
“I'll suck you off, and then I'll kiss you, and you can taste it all you want.” Hargrove wiggled his tongue in that way of his.   
“That's disgusting.” Steve meant that, but he was also feeling a little intrigued. He didn't want to feel intrigued. His cock was starting to feel a little intrigued too.   
“No, it isn't. It's hot. Trust me.”  
“I don't want to taste my own spunk.” Steve continued to protest, but he wasn't feeling it anymore.   
“Trust me.” He looked directly into Steve's eyes, and spoke slow in a low voice, and damn it if Steve didn't actually want to try it. His cock definitely wanted to try it, and was plenty hard again already. He hadn't even touched it.   
“Okay.”  
Hargrove grabbed his lower arms and pulled him onto the couch. He pushed until Steve was resting his back against the armrest, and settled between his legs. Steve looked down at him, and went the rest of the way to rock hard in seconds. God, the man was insanely hot. Hargrove levered himself up, and then swallowed all of Steve in one smooth motion. Steve's head flopped back until he was looking at the ceiling.   
“Fuck.”  
Hargrove hummed deep in his throat, and Steve cursed again. 

Billy wasn't interested in wasting time right now. For some weird fucking reason he wanted to just get this over with so he could get back to kissing Harrington. He wanted to kiss him all evening, or at least until the timer went off, and then kiss him some more while they waited for the cakes to cool. And then not go home so he could just kiss him until tomorrow. He'd say he was like a teenager, but what kind of teenage boy was more interested in kissing than getting off? He could probably blame it on just having gotten off. Yeah, he'd do that. He employed all his skill, and what he'd learned about the other man's likes, to try to get him to come as quickly as possible. His skill was not inconsiderable, and soon Harrington was a writhing panting mess on the couch. Billy loved looking at him and listening to him. It was awesome to be the cause of him falling apart like this. He held Harrington's testicles, and slid a finger down to touch his hole; not push into it, but just rub it. It worked, because moments later he felt the balls he was holding tighten up in preparation for release. Billy pulled up enough to be sure the semen filled his mouth rather than his throat. When he felt it hit the roof of his mouth he swallowed quickly. He didn't want to overwhelm Harrington by spitting the actual come into his mouth. He just wanted to share the taste of it. Depending on the level of kink Harrington was willing to put up with they might try that later some day. As soon as he'd swallowed the last shot he let go of the dick, then yanked Harrington's legs until he was flat on the couch. Billy straddled him and went down for the kiss. 

When Hargrove's lips met his Steve tensed up in preparation to be disgusted. He wasn't. It tasted weird. It tasted warm and salty overlaid with something that was almost more a sensation than a flavor; something bitter and metallic. He couldn't say it was good, but knowing what it was he was sharing did make it hot. Hargrove had been right. He felt like a pervert, but in a good way. He licked all over the inside of Hargrove's mouth, more to feel more connected to him than to gather any lingering flavor. He wondered what he would have done as a teenager if he'd known Billy Hargrove felt this damn good to kiss. Probably nothing, truth be told, because back then he hadn't really considered this whole gay thing, so he would have dismissed it as something only a girl would care about. Thinking back there probably had been some rumors flying around about Billy Hargrove being a great kisser, and a great fuck. Also a rumor about him fucking some older women. Steve wouldn't be asking him about that particular rumor anytime soon. He wrapped one arm around Hargrove's waist and the other over his shoulder, and pulled him closer. He had every intention of just making out on the couch until the timer rang. Their pants were still open, and their cock were brushing against each other. It felt good, but surprisingly Steve wasn't getting turned on by it. He was happy to just lie here and make out. The kiss had slowed down, and turned almost lazy. He was perfectly okay with that. This wasn't an “I hope for more sex” thing. For Steve it was giving in to how he felt about Hargrove. He wouldn't say how he felt, but he could enjoy this for a while. Actually, right now he probably would admit how he felt, if Hargrove asked. He wasn't sure if he hoped he would or not. 

All too soon the damn timer went off. Billy reluctantly got off Harrington, and zipped himself up. He considered pulling him up before going to the kitchen, but decided against it. He wanted the cake out of the oven so he could get back to making out. He wondered if telling Harrington how he felt would be a bad idea. It might be, but there was a fair chance he would do it anyway. He looked into the oven and saw the cake was sufficiently brown to be taken out. He put it next to the other cake, then took that first cake to the fridge. Last minute he remembered to put cling film on it so it wouldn't dry out. He put it in, closed the door, and turned to walk back to the living room, and almost walked right into Harrington who was standing very close to him, with an odd look on his face. Billy nearly had a fucking heart attack.   
“Everything all right?” Billy asked hesitantly.   
“Yeah. Fine. I just wanted to ask you something.”  
“Ask away.”  
“Are we on first name basis now?”  
Billy laughed. It was such a weird question to have tossed at him like this.   
“Sure.” He grinned and leaned in for a quick kiss, a little giddy that he apparently could do that now when he wanted. “I think sucking my dick entitles you to call me Billy.”  
“Does that mean you should have called me Steve all along?” He made a show of mock confusion.   
“No, that was work, and that's different.” Billy wondered how serious he should take it.  
“It sure as hell is.” Harrington's smile made Billy's stomach jitter.   
“Besides,” Billy said sagely, “it's not really the dick sucking that's important.”  
“What is then?”  
“We baked cake together.” He pointed to the cake cooling on the counter. “If that isn't reason enough to be on first name basis, nothing is.”  
“You make a good point.” Steve surprised the hell out of Billy by wrapping his arms around his shoulders and kissing him long and hard.  
Billy could get used to this. He wanted to. He wanted stuff like this to be part of his everyday life. For the first time in a very long time he wished he wasn't a whore. He wished he was some guy Harrington, Steve, could date. To be actual proper boyfriend material. Billy had never been boyfriend material, and he sure as fuck wasn't now. No respectable person would want to go out with a guy who sold his ass to people on the street, and Harrington was sure as fuck respectable. Steve. He wanted to get used to that too. Damn it all. He should probably say something, have a conversation, but instead he poured his frustration into the kiss. 

Steve was a little blown away by the sudden intensity Hargrove, Billy, suddenly put into the kiss. It was like he was trying to say something. Steve wanted to listen. He wanted much more than to listen. Standing in his own kitchen like this, kissing a man he'd probably been in love with for months at this point, he wanted a lot of things. More than anything he wanted to keep this man. To have him for more than getting off. To have him for things like baking cake, and getting baked, and forgetting a movie was on because they got caught up in kissing, and going grocery shopping, and driving around doing nothing, and arguing about music, or who's turn it was to pay for dinner or go get ice cream. He wanted... Fuck. He broke the kiss and pulled back until he could grab Billy's face and look him in the eyes. He saw confusion in them, and he was probably about to make it worse.   
“Billy, go out with me.” He rushed the words out before he could change his mind.   
“What?” There was a look of pure surprise on Hargrove's face.   
“Dating. Whatever. I want you to be my boyfriend.” Steve slid his hands down until they were resting on Billy's chest.  
“Have you lost your mind?” He raised his voice, but Steve wasn't sure it was in anger.   
“Maybe. I don't care.”  
“You fucking _should_ care.” Billy took a step back, and Steve's stomach sank. “You know what I do for a living.”  
“I definitely don't care about that.” Steve didn't know what tone to use to make it clear he meant it.   
“The fuck does that mean?” Hargrove did look angry now. Seemed Steve had failed on the tone.   
“It means I know what you do for a living, and I don't think it factors into whether or not I want you to be my boyfriend.” Steve crossed his arms.   
“It should. Other men are fucking me.”  
“For pay. I know.” Steve shrugged.   
“I don't think you do.” Hargrove shook his head, and stepped back one more step.   
“It's not that fucking hard.” Steve's annoyance rose a little more than he wanted it to. “Yes or no.”  
“I need to go.” He looked at the floor, looking lost somehow.   
“You're just gonna take off instead of answering?”  
“Yes. _Don't_.” The way he said that last word made Steve immediately back off. There was something really vulnerable there that he hadn't noticed before in the other man.   
“All right. But don't just blow me off because you're scared, or feel you should, or whatever reason you can think of when you're alone. Think about it. Really fucking think about it. I'm not joking here.”  
“Goddamn it, Harrington.” He turned around, but didn't move right away.   
“Steve. You know what, I'm just going to be honest with you.” He ignored the fact that Billy walked away from him instead of stopping to listen, and plowed on. “I am really fucking in love with you. You have no fucking idea.”  
Billy stopped dead, but only for a moment before walking out of the room.   
“Yeah, I do.”   
Steve didn't follow him to the door. He also didn't offer to drive him home. He'd said the important thing, and now the ball was in Billy's court. He'd also probably spend all goddamn night trying to figure out what that last statement meant. Goddamn fucking Billy Hargrove.


	10. Chapter 10

One of Billy's least favorite and boring things to do was sitting at the free clinic waiting his turn. Seemed like it was always packed, with people who definitely didn't want to have a conversation, including him. And yet loud conversations were always happening, not to mention kids crying all over the place. He understood why the kids were crying, and tried not to get upset at them, but that didn't make them any less loud. And there was always some pissed off yelling happening in the background. He'd have loved to spend the time reading, but he'd have to be able to hear himself think first, and a book was a sure way to draw that mom of 6 who wanted to talk, or unload some kids on you while they waited. But the free clinic was something he had to deal with, unless he wanted to put himself in debt by going somewhere better. Technically he didn't _have to_ , but he was a whore, and paying attention to his health paid off. He was exposed to a lot of shit on a regular basis. He came in semi-regularly to make sure some asshole hadn't given him an STD or something. He was always careful with the condoms, to the point of threatening some customers, because fuck that AIDS shit, but nothing was perfect and if he'd caught something he wanted to know early. So he came in to do blood tests and all that shit. Today he wouldn't have minded someone talking to him, because today his mind was stuffed full of Steve fucking Harrington saying he was in love with him; as it had been the last week and a half. It made everything complicated, and he didn't want to deal with it right now. Christmas was only a few days away, and Billy happily used it as an excuse to avoid the man, never mind that he always had fewer customers at Christmas. Billy ignored the fact everything had already been complicated by him having fallen for Steve first. He'd practiced the name thing, alone in bed at nights, thinking of him as Steve instead of Harrington. He'd imagined stupid scenarios where he was calling him Steve, and they were doing terrible “couple” things, like holding hands in public, and kissing each other good bye in the morning before Steve went to work. God, he was gross, and pathetic, and fucking stupid. He also wanted to go find Steve, tell him he was in love with him back, and just fucking go for it and see what happened. Before he could repeat to himself again how bad an idea that would be, he heard a nurse call his name. He got up, nearly tripped over a kid, and then went over to lay the charm on the stout middle-aged no-nonsense kind of woman who was waiting for him. She gave him a mildly exasperated look and waved for him to follow. They'd met. 

When it was all done, and he was a few cc of bodily fluids short of what he'd been when he entered, he went out into the now dark of the evening. It was freezing outside. Someone had strung Christmas lights around the windows on the first floor of the building. There were more colorful lights on the buildings he could see across the parking lot. There was no snow. It was just gray, icy, and cold. He lit a cigarette and pulled at his jacket, as if that would somehow turn it into a warmer jacket. He walked across the parking lot. There was a bus stop not far off that had a bus that could get him home. He could probably even walk home, if he felt like freezing his balls completely off. The free clinic was just shy of being counted as part of Crapville. It was close enough to help the people who lived there, but far enough off that they weren't technically in that part of town. Billy lived on the other side of Crapville compared to it. He was busy smoking, hoping the bus would show up soon after he reached the stop, and freezing his ass off, so he didn't think anything of the guys coming up behind him until one of them spoke.  
“Hey faggot!”  
Billy felt a crackle of ice up his spine. He didn't turn around, and didn't stop walking, but now that he was aware of them he could hear there were several people behind him.  
“Faggot! I'm talking to you!”  
Billy kept walking, fully aware he was in deep deep shit. Given the time and the lack of audience, these people weren't out to make fun of him or humiliate him. They were out to beat the shit out of a faggot boy, and he wouldn't be at all surprised if they didn't even know he was one.  
“We know why you were in that clinic. You're some sort of faggot whore, checking if you caught something from being fucked in the ass.”  
Billy wondered which one of them had paid to fuck him, and was now telling his friends to cover up that he liked male ass. They were close enough to his home that some rumors of his work might spread via the waiting room of the clinic, though he hadn't seen anyone he knew there, but he was willing to bet it was the first option. That guy would be the one to kick Billy when he was down, if they managed to get him on the ground, just to show he definitely really hated fags as much as the others. Billy would have pitied him, if he wasn't seconds away from maybe getting killed. At least these weren't the kind of people who would rape him before killing him. Small favors. 

One of them rushed over and Billy whipped round and punched him in the face. It was his only course of action. There was nowhere to run at this time of night, and something really stupid inside him balked completely at the thought of running away blindly. There were no people to turn to for help. The people going in and out of the clinic were busy with their own shit, and he was already far enough away from it that even the asshole's shouts probably didn't carry that far. He either scared the bastards off by attacking first or he just took the beating and hoped they wouldn't kill him in the process. Billy wasn't the kind of person who just stood still and took a beating, not since the last time he saw his dad. If they wanted to beat a faggot they'd have to fucking fight him first, and Billy knew how to throw a punch.

Steve was dozing on the couch in front of Bloodsport. Jean-Claude van Damme was the shit, but Steve was tired, so even Mr. Splits couldn't keep him up. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the phone rang. He stumbled over to it in a rush and picked it up.  
“Hello?” The croak he heard in his mouth made him cover the mouth piece and clear his throat a few times. He must have been more gone than he'd though.  
“Steve?”  
“Billy?”  
“Yeah... uh, hi.” The way he hesitated had Steve worried immediately. Billy usually always sounded confident.  
“What's up? Are you okay?”  
Steve heard a sigh from the other end of the line, then it went quiet for so long he was about to ask again, when Billy finally spoke.  
“No, not really.” He paused and sighed again. His voice was rough. “Look, I'm sorry to call you like this, but I kinda need to be picked up.”  
“What happened?” Now Steve was really worried.  
“I'll tell you when you get here. _If_ you get here. I mean, for all I know you're busy and I'm wasting my time.”  
“I'm not busy. Tell me where you are.” Not going to help Billy out was not an option. The guy sounded like he needed help.  
Steve grabbed the pen and paper he always kept next to the phone, like a fucking adult, and wrote down the explanation of where to go. He wanted to ask questions, but held off. He'd see Billy soon.  
“Okay. Hang tight. I'm on my way.” He hung up and wasted no time leaving home. 

Steve pulled up in front of the free clinic Billy had directed him to, but couldn't see him anywhere outside. He parked and got out of the car, intending to go in and see if he was in there, but before he could get to the door Billy came out, supported by a nurse. Steve stopped dead when he saw him. He looked like hell. Before they could get to him he hurried over to help out.  
“The fuck happened to you?”  
“In the car.” Billy sounded like talking hurt him.  
“Are you sure you shouldn't be in a hospital?” Up close he looked even worse. He looked two steps away from unconscious.  
“He should be,” said the nurse, looking irritatedly from one to the other of them.  
“I said no.” Billy shifted his weight over from leaning on the nurse to leaning on Steve. He was heavy, and every step clearly hurt him. “Harrington. Steve. Just get me the fuck out of here. Please.”  
Steve looked at the nurse, who shrugged.  
“He's not going to die, probably, but he won't be lifting any weights this side of New Years.” The sarcastic tone told Steve the “probably” in there was probably not meant seriously. Probably. She handed a small bag over to Steve. “Or walk without a nasty limp, for that matter. Here are some supplies he's going to need the next few days, that we frankly shouldn't be giving out, and a couple of prescriptions.”  
“Thanks,” said Steve, not knowing why he was the one replying.  
The nurse gave Billy a few admonitions, before going back into the clinic. Steve helped him over to and into the car. By the time Steve got in on his side Billy was already smoking. He hadn't rolled down the window. Steve didn't care. He started the car, but didn't drive anywhere.  
“The fuck happened to you?”  
“Got in a fight.” He looked out the side window. Steve wondered if it was to hide how battered his face was. Steve wasn't even sure the guy could see out his right eye.  
“I'm gonna want more details.”  
“Take me home and I'll invite you in and give you some.”  
“I don't know where we are in relation to your place. You have any idea?”  
Billy pointed, and Steve turned the car in that direction. He was really worried, but didn't know what else he could do but take the guy home. 

Sitting in Steve's car, chain smoking, made Billy feel slightly more human. They hadn't killed him, but there had been four of them and one of him, and it hadn't just been the guy who'd fucked him who kicked him when he was down. Billy had recognized him between blows. He hadn't blown the guy's cover. Most likely it would only have made him mad enough to kill him. Being alive meant Billy could get that fucker back later. Not that he hadn't gotten in a few good shots tonight. He was beat to shit, but none of them came out of it unscathed. He looked out the window at the buildings that became more and more familiar the closer he got to home. He actually didn't want to go home. Jaqueline and Nico would lose their shit, and he wasn't sure it would make him feel better. He was also not looking forward to spending a lot of time on his own, while the other two worked, and had to cover his shit in addition to their own. He wouldn't be working for a while; he could feel that easily. The doctors at the clinic told him he'd probably broken some ribs, but couldn't say for sure without an x-ray. In addition he had various cuts, bruises, abrasions, and _two_ fucking sprained wrists from defending his face; not that that had helped much. They'd patched him up and wrapped him up, and given him painkillers. He was really fucking grateful for that last one. He was sore as hell now, but he was sure he was going to feel way worse in the morning. It wasn't that really good shit you could get at hospitals, but fucking everything helped at this point, and he definitely did _not_ want to go to a hospital. When they pulled up in front of his apartment building he looked at the door and thought he definitely didn't want to go up the stairs to his apartment either. He wanted to just stay in the car and not move. Steve helped him out of the car, and it was clear he'd have to help him up the stairs too. Billy fucking hated this. Being beat up he could live with, being so beat up he had to rely on other people was embarrassing.  
“Are you okay?”  
“My pride hurts.” Lifting his legs to get up the stairs made him consider sleeping in Steve's car the next few days.  
“Your pride?”  
“Don't get me wrong, the rest of me hurts too, but having you help me up the stairs to my own goddamn apartment sucks balls.”  
“Would it be better if I helped you up the stairs to _my_ apartment?”  
Billy tried to laugh, but his lungs wouldn't cooperate. The doctors had told him breathing deep would be difficult, and that it wasn't uncommon to get pneumonia following broken ribs. Then they gave him a slew of symptoms that were on the “go to the hospital right away” list. He might ignore that list. 

Walking up the stairs Steve was a little surprised by how clean it was. He guessed he'd expected some kind of movie ghetto with trash lining every wall. Everything was worn, and there was grime in the corners and along the walls, but it wasn't that much worse than in his own apartment building. Either there was a good sense of community here, or there were a couple of people in the building who were very conscientious cleaners. He was willing to bet on the latter. Sense of community didn't extend to things like keeping the communal stairs clean. Billy unlocked the door, with some wincing when he put his hand in his pocket to fish out the key. Steve wanted to ask if he needed help, but didn't. They entered into a smallish, but tidy apartment. All the furniture was mismatched.  
“It's not color coded, like yours.” Billy nudged Steve in the ribs.  
Steve scoffed, and let Billy lead the way to a small bedroom. He turned on the light as they entered it. The only light was from a fixture on the ceiling. There was a bed pushed against one wall, and a wardrobe, and there wasn't room for anything beyond that, other than a small chair that was standing where a bedside table would have been. There were items of clothing covering the entire surface of said chair. There was another pile of clothes on the corner of the bed nearest the wardrobe. Other than that the room was clean. Steve grinned.  
“You seem to have difficulties deciding what to wear.”  
“What can I say? I like looking good.” Billy smiled at him weakly.  
Steve helped him sit on the bed, and then got his first good look at his face. He looked worse than Steve had looked after Billy beat the crap out of him all those years ago. His lip was split and had swelled up. His right eye was more or less swollen shut. His left eye wasn't swollen but was severely bruised. His nose looked like it was half a step short of broken, and there were cuts in several places on it, as well as on his cheeks and chin. He was a fucking mess. Steve wasn't sure he wanted to know what the rest of him looked like.  
“I can't say you look all that good right now.”  
“No shit. I don't feel all that good either.”  
“I'll help you get those good looking clothes off so you can go to bed.” Steve held out his hands to show he was ready to grab whichever piece of clothing Billy wanted off first.  
“I want a fucking shower.” He made a move to flop back on the bed, but a short move seemed to make him think better of it. It must have hurt him somehow.  
“I don't think that's happening tonight. I can come over and help you with that tomorrow.” Steve dropped his hands and looked around for somewhere to sit, but his choices were limited to the bed, the floor, and a chair full of clothes.  
“Don't be a fucking idiot. I'm not gonna have you help me have a fucking shower.” He sounded both angry and tired at the same time.  
“Normally I'd do it in the hopes it would be a _fucking_ shower, but this time I think it would be best if we don't.” He grinned at his own innuendo, but went back to serious when Billy didn't bite. “I've been inside you, dude. Seeing you naked isn't a big deal.”  
“It's not about seeing me naked.” Billy wasn't quite looking at Steve. It didn't seem to be a matter of avoiding his gaze, but more like he was too out of it to really focus.  
“Yeah, I know.” Steve sat down next to him on the bed. “Maybe have one of your roommates help?”  
“Frankly I'd rather have you help.” Billy reached up a hand to maybe rub his own face, but as soon as he touched his nose he winced and put the hand back down. “They're gonna have enough work picking up my slack, and my third of the rent probably. December is a shitty month for work to begin with, and I don't exactly have funds saved up in case of an emergency.”  
“I can help with that.”  
“Like I haven't taken enough of your money already.”  
“All that money was earned fair and square. I've been saving money to go to Hawkins this year for Christmas. I'm not going, so I have that money left over.” He shrugged. Right now it didn't feel like a big deal. Sure, he missed the kids, but making sure Billy was okay was really important.  
“What do you mean you're not going?” He turned to look straight at Steve, even though it seemed to hurt him.  
“I'm not gonna go off on a trip when you're all beat up like this.” Steve tried to sound reasonable, even though the decision was clearly made by his feelings.  
“Yeah, because _that_ will make me feel better. God damn it, Harrington.” Again there was that mix of tired and angry. Mostly tired.  
Steve didn't comment on Billy's reversion to his last name. First name basis was a recent development, after all. Steve had been calling him Billy in his head for ages now, especially since the cake baking, but he couldn't expect Billy to have done the same. He said nothing, but instead just touched Billy's arm, trying to be careful to not put too much pressure on it. He didn't know which parts were the most hurt. 

Billy sighed shallowly, because his chest was tied up too tight to breathe properly, wanting to lean into the touch. He was exhausted, and hurting, and tonight sucked hard, but Steve was here with him, and it made him feel better. Goddamn boyfriend material Steve motherfucking Harrington. He was so much better than Billy was.  
“You should go on your trip.”  
“I'm not gonna go on the trip. I'm gonna stay in town, so I can come check on you. Like, twice a day.” He nudged Billy gently with his shoulder. Billy stifled the wince that wanted to show up when his midsection moved.  
“Twice a day, huh?” Billy smiled, feeling annoyingly warm inside.  
“Hell, if I had my way I'd take you home with me and spend my days off nursing you back to health.”  
“You're a fucking idiot, Steve,” Billy said affectionately, completely aware he was very much a sucker for this lovable dork.  
“Yeah, I know.” He was still holding Billy's arm, and started rubbing it almost imperceptibly. “But really, if you want to come stay with me you can. I took time off for the trip, so apart from the next two days I won't be working until next year.”  
“By the looks of it I won't be working until next year either. Not that that was in any way planned.” He sighed again, and hoped it didn't sound too whiny. “The brats will be disappointed if you don't come.”  
“They'll live. I have more time off coming. I thought I'd surprise them for spring break.”  
“Must be nice to be able to afford time off.” Billy mentally kicked himself for managing to sound even more whiny.  
“For me it's a matter of priorities."Steve shrugged. "I could be much closer to having a new car if I didn't take the time off. I'm lucky I have a job that lets me.”  
“Do you spend all your time off in Hawkins?” Billy's exhaustion was catching up to him, but he liked sitting here like this, just talking, so he didn't say anything.  
“As long as it's more than three days, yeah, pretty much.”  
“I haven't been back since the night I took off.” He wanted to take Steve's hand, and maybe join their fingers, because apparently he was a sap. His sprained wrist protested the move, so he didn't.  
“You can come with me sometime, if you want.” Steve offered.  
“You're full of invites today.” Billy deflected, because he didn't want to think about what going back there might feel like, and he didn't want to reply with whether or not he wanted to come.  
“What can I say? I like having you around.” He shrugged, and the hand on Billy's arm squeezed gently.  
Billy thought about Steve's confession the last time they met. Billy had a strong urge to confess back, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Steve being his boyfriend would be a bad idea, for Steve. It would be a good idea for Billy, but there was a limit to how selfish even an asshole like him could be.  
“Well, pretty boy, I'm going to take you up on your offer to help me out of my clothes. I'll think about the other invites.”  
“Think about them properly. Okay? Don't just not go for it because you don't want to be a bother or whatever.” Steve got up and started taking off Billy's boots. Billy fought down the embarrassment of being helped like this.  
“I'll think about them properly. I promise.” Billy knew he'd probably not be able to think about anything else, for most of his recovery. 

Steve helped Billy out of his clothes as carefully as he could, moving to the upper body when he'd gotten the boots off. The clothes were dirty, bloody, and ripped. The jacket looked like there would be little point to trying to save it and make it look presentable again; same with the pants. Steve removed Billy's hoodie and t-shirt in one go, going slow. The amount of bruising on Billy's torso was terrible, and there were probably more bruises forming. He looked like he'd been hit by a car. There were bandages wrapped around his chest.  
“Broken ribs?”  
“Probably.” Billy put his hands limply in his lap.  
“Probably?” Steve stopped what he was doing and raised an eyebrow.  
“I'd have to go get an x-ray to find out for sure.” He looked at his hands, but Steve couldn't tell if it was to avoid looking at him, or just to check the damage to them. They were very bruised and scratched.  
“And you refused?” Steve's second eyebrow joined the first one.  
“The clinic didn't have a machine.” Billy made an attempt at a shrug, but only got halfway in it before giving up.  
“You know, I really want to drive you to a hospital.”  
“I can't deal with a fucking hospital tonight.”  
“Billy.” Steve didn't say anything else, because he hoped just his name would say more.  
“Look, okay. Fuck. If I feel worse tomorrow I'll let you take me to a hospital. Is that okay with you?”  
“If you feel worse at any time before tomorrow too you either call an ambulance or you call me to take you. Okay?” Steve kneeled down to be nearer Billy's current eye height. They looked at each other.  
“Yes. Okay. Happy?” He looked resigned, but also like he meant it.  
“Well, no, but okay.” Steve started on removing Billy's pants. It wasn't easy, but working together they got him wiggled out of them without too much pain.  
“I just want to sleep.” Billy tried to yawn, but it was amputated by his inability to draw a proper breath.  
“You don't have a concussion or anything, do you?” Steve moved to pull the covers on the bed away enough that Billy could lie down. Pile of clothes or not, the bed was meticulously made.  
“No concussion, as far as they could tell.” He scooted over to the part of the mattress Steve had just exposed. “My face is busted, but they didn't get in any really good blows to the head. The worst damage was to my chest and pelvis, I think.”  
“Don't tell me you might have a broken pelvis.” Steve paused just to look at Billy disapprovingly.  
“The pelvis is tough. Takes a lot to break it.” He carefully wiggled under the covers. “I took some good blows to the stomach too, but the doctors didn't find any signs of internal bleeding or anything.”  
“Dude, I'm about to fucking carry you to my car to get you to a hospital.” Steve stopped pulling the covers up, ready to pull them away again if he didn't like the next thing he heard.  
“I said they _didn't_ see signs of anything. Calm down.” His tone was more amused than irritated, and it made Steve feel moderately better.  
“I'm calm. I'm just worried.” Steve finished pulling the covers up and sat down on the bed.  
“They told me what to look for, and so far I see none of it. I'm not going to fucking die, Steve.”  
“You damn well better not.” He had a moment of stupidity, where he pictured himself actually tucking the other man in and kissing him good night. He pushed it away quickly. He'd never hear the end of it. “You still haven't put a condom on me with your mouth.”  
“As soon as I've recovered I'll get right on that,” Billy said smiling. The smile looked more happy than joking, and it did things to Steve's stomach.  
Steve might be able to resist tucking Billy in, but right now he was not able to resist the other part of it. He leaned down and gently pressed a kiss to Billy's injured lip. He was kissed back just as gently. It made him feel so damn good in spite of his worry. Billy bailed when Steve confessed to him, but he was still willing to kiss him back, and that was a good start for later. He broke the kiss before he could get carried away. This was not the time for it. Billy looked absolutely exhausted, and he closed his eyes, like he was already half drifted off. 

Steve wasn't sure if he should stay where he was until he was sure Billy was asleep, or if he should get up to get some things ready in case Billy needed something in the middle of the night. That thought made him remember the bag the nurse had given him, and what was in it.  
“Billy? Sorry. I need your birthday or something.”  
“Why?” Billy's eyes were closed at first, but he opened them and focused quickly when Steve talked to him.  
“So I can pick up the prescriptions for you.”  
“Right. Those.” He moved his arms until they were on top of the covers instead of under them. “I can ask Jaqueline or Nico to do that for me. They gave me enough painkillers to last at least until tomorrow night. I must really look like shit, because handing out painkillers isn't something they do.” He smiled, but it was lopsided and tired.  
“Dude, you kind of do.” Steve wondered if Billy was even aware of how beat up he looked. “Look, I'm going to come over tomorrow anyway after work, so I might as well be useful on the way.”  
“You're coming over?” Billy lifted his head to look at Steve, but only for a moment.  
“Of course I am.” Steve reached over and ran the backs of his fingers across Billy's forehead. It was overheated where it was bruised. “I want to make sure you're doing okay, and you don't have a phone. And aside from the possibility you might need me to do something, it's a good excuse to finally meet your roommates.” He grinned and took back his hand.  
“You sound like you're asking to meet my parents.” The lopsided smile was back. “You've already met Jaqueline, haven't you?”  
“Yeah, I have. I've wondered about something, but I know it's not the time to ask stupid things.”  
“Ask. I think I know what it is anyway.” He sounded oddly resigned, and Steve didn't know why.  
“Why do you always say her full name?” Steve felt like an idiot as soon as the question was out. It was such a dumb thing to ask, but now he was committed. “A name that long is usually shortened. Her friend Belladonna didn't shorten it either, even though Jaqueline shortened hers to Bella.”  
“Okay, I did not know what it was.” Billy chuckled, then winced. “Totally left field. She doesn't like it. She says she chose Jaqueline because that's the name she likes, not Jackie or Lin or whatever else people want to turn it into, and she likes being addressed using all of it.”  
“I see. Makes sense.” Steve nodded. It was reasonable. He knew now to not ask her about her name.  
“Nico is short for Nicolau, since we're on the subject.” Billy smiled. Steve missed his grin, but totally understood him not wanting to do it with his lip in its current state. “He's totally cool with being called Nico.”  
“That's an unusual name.”  
“Not in Brazil.”  
“Ah, right.” Steve had forgotten that detail of Billy's other roommate. He'd probably forgotten other details too.  
“Since you're still here, wanna get me a bottle of water from the fridge?” Billy lifted his arm in a vague gesture toward the bedroom door.  
“Sure.” Steve got up. “Which direction is the kitchen?”  
“We don't have a separate room for the kitchen. It's a corner of the living room.”  
“Should be easy to find then.”  
Steve went to the living room and immediately spotted the kitchen corner. Before he got more than two steps into the room there came a shout from the bedroom.  
“No one has a fucking separate room for the kitchen in an apartment, by the way. You live in a freakshow apartment that's pretending to be a house.”  
“You love my kitchen,” Steve shouted back. 

“Yeah, I do,” Billy mumbled to himself, for no good reason.  
He closed his eyes and waited for Steve to come back. He hadn't wanted to call him, but right now he was really glad he had. Both Jaqueline and Nico would be pissed as hell about what happened to him, and they'd take good care of him while he recovered, and he loved them and would do the same for them, but this thing with Steve was different. Steve had shown up, had not freaked out, and had taken charge and gotten him home. He'd immediately canceled his plans to take care of Billy and come see him while he got better, like it hadn't even been a choice to him. He hated to be the cause of Steve canceling a trip to see the people he cared the most about, but it was good to feel like Steve cared about him too. Enough to prioritize him. Even a macho prick like him had to admit it felt really fucking nice to have someone who wanted to go out of his way to take care of him, even though there were people around who could do it instead. When Steve came back into the room with two bottles of water, Billy made a quick decision. He would be selfish and not try to convince Steve to go on his trip after all. He'd had the shit beat out of him tonight. He figured he was allowed to be selfish for a while.  
“You need help drinking that?” Steve asked while holding out a bottle.  
“My wrists are sprained, not broken.” Billy ignored the pain and got up on an elbow to drink.  
Steve was nice to him and took the cap off before handing it over. Billy drank gratefully. It felt really damn good to get something cold down his throat. He finished a good amount of it, then handed the bottle back and flopped back onto his back on the bed.  
“Steve, when I feel better I'm gonna come over to your place and cook you a really good dinner. My treat.”  
“You can come over to my place without cooking dinner too, and before you feel better.”  
“You really want me to stay with you while I get over this, don't you?” Billy was very tempted to take him up on his offer, but one selfish act was enough for one night.  
“It's either that or I come over and spend hours here every day and drive your roommates nuts.” He stretched out his legs, like he was really satisfied with his answer.  
“They'll probably love you. You're like, genuine boyfriend material.” Billy smiled, but then realized what he'd just said and regretted it.  
“Then be my boyfriend.” Steve said it in a way that surprisingly wasn't pushy. It was more matter of fact.  
“Don't.”  
“I won't. If you come stay with me I won't either. This has nothing to do with it.”  
“Nothing?” Billy would have raised an eyebrow, but he always lifted the right one and that part of his face was extra busted right now.  
“Maybe a little.” He smiled in an embarrassed way Billy found intensely cute. “But you know what I mean.”  
Billy responded with a yawn that was way too deep for his pain level.  
“Are you going to be all right here by yourself tonight?” Steve laid a hand on Billy's chest. It was a move of comfort, but Billy wasn't sure who it was for.  
“I'll be fine. I feel like shit, but it's nowhere near as bad as you fear.”  
“It's just that you don't have a phone, so you can't call if anything goes wrong.”  
Well, one more selfish act wouldn't kill anyone.  
“Then stay here. There's a couch in the living room, or you can stay in here. My bed's big enough. I won't try anything funny. I promise.” He tried his cheeky grin, but his lip threatened to start bleeding again. He would just have to hope his tone conveyed the level of humor he wanted in it. 

It was a suggestion Steve immediately knew he would go along with. He wouldn't be able to relax at home. If he ended up late for work he ended up late for work.  
“I have an alarm clock,” said Billy, basically reading Steve's mind.  
“I'm just gonna go move the car to a more legal spot, and write a note to your roommates.”  
“Go ahead. I'll stay here, and might be asleep by the time you get back.”  
“I'm okay with that. Sleep is probably the best thing for you right now. I'll try not to wake you when I get in.”  
“So you've decided on that option, huh?”  
“How could I not?” Even in Billy's current condition Steve was thrilled at the prospect of getting to sleep next to him.  
“If you want to have any chance of me being awake when you get back you better hop to it.”  
“I told you, it's fine if you're not awake. But I'll hop to it anyway.”  
Steve gently patted Billy's chest and got up. He started with moving the car. The parking lot by the basketball court had three free spots, so at least he didn't have to spend ages looking. He hoped it would be okay until morning, but the car's safety wasn't a priority. When he got back to the apartment he made sure to move quietly. It took him a while to locate a pencil and paper, but found it in a kitchen drawer of all places. He wrote down what had happened, and that he was staying the night with Billy in his bed. He didn't know where they were most likely to see it, so he chose a small table in the living room that was in view of most areas of the room. He grabbed a cat figurine, that was helpfully bright orange, from the single bookshelf in the room and put it on top of the note. If that being in the wrong spot didn't get their attention nothing would. He went back to the bedroom and found Billy had scooted closer to the wall so that Steve wouldn't have to climb over him to get into or out of the bed. He looked around and saw neither the alarm clock, or even anything it would reasonably sit on. He looked under the clothes chair, and found it sitting on the floor, next to a hardcover copy of Good Omens by Neil Gaiman. Steve was surprised, both because he owned the same book, and because he hadn't expected Billy to be into these things. Steve was a comic book nerd, thanks to the kids, and loved Gaiman's Sandman series, so he had bought Good Omens as soon as it hit the shelves. He didn't pick the book up, but he would definitely have a conversation about it with Billy later. He set the alarm for early enough that he'd have time to go home and change before work, and maybe shower. He took off his clothes and put them neatly on top of the pile on the chair, then carefully got into bed next to Billy. He didn't want to jolt the mattress too much and maybe cause him pain. Thankfully Billy was generous with the covers, and soon Steve was comfortable under them. Lying here in the bed with him, everything around Steve smelled like Billy. In normal circumstances it probably would have turned him on, but right now it was just a nice way to drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have another couple of weeks now where I'll be working more than I'll be home. For my sanity's sake I'm going to put a brake on the writing during the worst of it. That means the next chapter will be late, possibly by as much as a week. I'm really sorry about this. I promise there are several more chapters in the works. I just need some time to breathe. 
> 
> Thank you everyone who is still reading this story. You are all awesome! 
> 
> (Also, I'm sorry this chapter isn't a pleasant one.)


	11. Chapter 11

It was Christmas morning and Billy was sitting on Steve Harrington's couch of all places. He'd been bullied into it. At least that was his defense. Jaqueline, Nico, and Steve had teamed up against him. The three of them went from strangers to getting along swimmingly in what seemed to Billy like minutes. Jaqueline and Nico were understandably livid at what happened to Billy, and the day after the attack had started out pretty shitty. He'd been too out of it to enjoy waking up next to Steve. He'd barely even registered the alarm and the movement of the mattress when Steve got up. Reacting to it had been out of the question. He'd passed out again and an unknown amount of time later he'd been woken by loud Portuguese cursing. After that followed explaining, and anger, and more cursing, and he'd been right in thinking his body would feel worse in the morning. Jaqueline had calmed down before Nico, who had reverted to his mother tongue in fury. They'd all been beat up before at some point, it sort of came with the territory, but never this bad, and previous experiences didn't make it any less infuriating when it happened. When everyone had come back to the point where you could have a normal conversation, Billy had popped a painkiller and gone back to sleep. When he'd woken again, shocked at how long he'd been out, Steve had already arrived, with more painkillers, donuts, and pizza. The day had considerably improved after that, for everyone. 

Now he was padded up with pillows on Steve's couch, with his legs on another pillow on the table, watching Christmas specials on the TV while drinking non-alcoholic eggnog. He wanted the alcoholic kind, but Steve refused, on the grounds it might mess with the painkillers. Billy wouldn't mind if the painkillers and the alcohol had interesting interactions, but it was Christmas morning and Steve was trying to make it a great day, so Billy played nice and didn't complain. He wanted to help out, but Steve had told him to stay put until he needed help with dinner. Billy was still bruised and sore, and had trouble walking right, so he didn't push too hard, but he was happy Steve was willing to at least let him have a hand in making dinner. It was his thing, after all. Steve was cleaning, because they were expecting guests. After finding out who Steve had chosen to invite, Billy found himself even more head over heels for him instantly. Steve had, on his own accord, invited Jaqueline and Nico to celebrate Christmas Day with them, and Billy had melted when he'd heard. They'd all agreed on not doing presents this year. December was a shitty month for pay if you were a prostitute, and because of what had happened to Billy they'd all be extra broke. They also knew he wouldn't be able to go out to get any gifts in his current state, and he was one of those idiots who bought presents Christmas Eve. They were going to put extra into dinner instead. Steve would be picking the others up while Billy started on dinner prep; probably sitting down. He took a sip of eggnog and internally scoffed at his current tendency to think of this event like he and Steve were inviting people over together. He was a guest himself. He was just a guest who had been here for two days already, sharing Steve's very comfortable bed. They had done nothing sexual in that time. Hadn't even kissed. Steve had kept to his word of not bringing up how he felt about Billy. He wondered if Steve was aware of how much his feelings were returned. Billy was still torn on what to do about it. On one hand he wanted to just tell him, and go for it, and see what happened, because goddamn it, Steve Harrington was an awesome person. On the other hand he wanted to be sensible about it and not go for it, because whatever came from it was doomed to fail, because Billy was a goddamn prostitute, and Steve was way too good for him anyway. 

Steve came into the living room and stopped behind the couch. He put his hands gently on Billy's shoulders, as always these days worried he'd cause him pain.  
“How are you doing?”  
“This show sucks and I'm bored.” Billy leaned his head back and looked up at him. “I want to help with something, or I'm gonna go insane and take it out on the Christmas tree.”   
He waved his hand in the general direction of the small plastic tree, of a color that could only be described as fake green, sitting decked out in its mismatched ornaments on the floor next to the TV. After dinner it would be put on the dining table to show it off more. It had been a gift from the kids the first Christmas after he moved to the city, and he never wanted another one. The decorations on it were a mix of stuff the kids had bought and made for him in the years since. Every year they each gave him a new decoration to put on the tree. It was getting full. This year he'd have to get the decorations later. Since he'd been planning on spending Christmas in Hawkins no one had traded gifts yet.   
“You leave the tree alone, you monster. It's never done anything to you.” Steve walked around the couch and sat down next to Billy.   
“It's a very cute tree.” Billy offered Steve some chocolate baubles he'd been working his way through alongside the eggnog.  
“Yes, it is.” Steve took one, nodding.   
“Doesn't fit with the decor in here at all.”  
“No, it doesn't.” Steve grinned. He'd told Billy the story about the tree the first time he saw it and asked what the fuck was up with it.  
“And you fucking love it.”  
“Yes, I do.” Steve picked up the remote and channel surfed for no good reason. Habit probably.   
“The kids have horrible taste in decorations.” Billy slowly put his feet on the floor. He looked like he was being careful to not make any sudden moves.   
“What are you talking about? Who doesn't want a Chewbacca head hanging from their tree?”  
“In a Santa hat.”   
“Of course. It's a _Christmas_ ornament.” Steve grinned happily. He loved that ornament. It was so dumb it was awesome. There was an itty bitty light saber, Luke's, and a Darth Vader mask too. The Vader mask didn't have a Santa hat, which in his mind made it slightly inferior to the Chewie one. Though, inferior or not, he loved every single ornament on the tree, because of where they came from.   
“I _would_ like to know where they got the egg from. That's a really rad one.” Billy pointed to the Alien egg bauble that was hanging off a branch near the top of the tree.   
“No kidding. That was Dustin two years ago.”  
“You remember who gave you what and when?” Billy looked at him with slight skepticism.  
“Of course.” Steve shrugged. He could name the year and gift giver of every item on the tree. He didn't say he also had a backup notebook with the info, in case he forgot any of it.  
“That's fucking impressive. And a little weird.”  
“I have nothing against being weird.” Steve reached into the bowl and took another chocolate bauble. He'd bought too many, if such a thing was possible. They definitely had enough that all three could eat themselves sick on them. “You ready to start dinner prep?”  
“Very.” Billy nodded emphatically.   
“Ready for me to go pick up your roomies too?”  
“Absolutely.” He gave Steve a thumbs up and a grin.  
“I hope you don't think it's weird, that I want to make dinner with you guys instead of serving things ready. It's kind of a Christmas thing for me.”  
“What happened to having nothing against being weird?” Billy raised an eyebrow.   
“Touche.” He smiled in that embarrassed way Billy was quickly starting to love. “It started one Christmas at the Byers' place. Five years ago, I think? Not on Christmas Day, but one of the other days during Christmas. The kids and everyone got together and we made a mess of a dinner, and it was awesome. Joyce Byers and I are about equal in cooking talent. We bonded. So we made it a thing.”  
“I know Jaqueline and Nico will have fun cooking with us. Nico makes this awesome rice thing with walnuts, and Jaqueline is the queen of turkey stuffing. And they're not the kind of people who say yes to things to be polite. In our line of work you learn quickly that's a bad way to live.” He did a slight shiver with his shoulders, that told Steve a little too much about bad experiences.   
Steve nodded, relieved after the reassurance.   
“And there will be no mess of a dinner this year.” Billy got to his feet unsteadily, trying to hide how much it hurt. Steve wondered, not for the first time, if the guy didn't have a broken pelvis after all. “I have some pride in my cooking that won't be pushed aside just to be cute with you.”  
“I am perfectly okay with dinner not being a mess.” Steve got up next to him, in case he needed support.   
Billy stopped moving and looked straight into Steve's eyes.   
“You have no idea how much it means to the three of us that you invited us here for Christmas.” He leaned in and kissed Steve carefully.  
It was something they hadn't done since the night they made cakes together. Steve realized he hadn't even told him he won the bet. He'd have to do that later. Right now he leaned into the kiss. It felt so good to be kissing him again. He'd missed it, and spent probably too much time thinking about doing it again. Maybe he was already addicted. 

Billy broke the kiss before they could get too into it. Before _he_ could get too into it. Kissing Steve was something he could definitely get hooked on. God, he wanted to. He shouldn't, but he wanted to. He pulled back, but couldn't stop himself from reaching up and tugging on a strand of Steve's still awesome hair.   
“You go pick up the others, and I'll peel potatoes or something.”  
“The most exciting part of dinner. Be careful with your wrists.” Steve took careful hold of the hand that had just pulled on his hair, with both of his.   
“They're just sprained. I'm not going to cause more damage to them by using them when peeling potatoes.”   
“Maybe not, but you can definitely make them hurt more.” He ran a thumb over Billy's wrist, barely touching the skin.   
“I can handle pain. I'll be fine. But if it makes you feel better I'll be careful.” Billy tried to smile reassuringly, but it wasn't an expression he was familiar with trying to convey. Not when it wasn't fake.   
“It does make me feel better.” Steve smiled back, and in his eyes there was an expression Billy couldn't describe, but that made him want to kiss him again. “Don't do any heavy lifting until I get back.”  
“I won't. Nothing heavier than a big potato.” Billy realized Steve was still holding his hand, and withdrew it slowly, careful not to make it seem like he didn't want it there.   
“Good.” Steve nodded, kissed him longer than was strictly necessary, then grabbed his car keys and left.  
Billy didn't say anything as he watched him go, but smiled to himself the entire time he spent peeling vegetables. Funny how a simple kiss could do that to a person. Peeling things did make his wrists hurt more, but it was fine. He was more concerned about the raging pain in his hip and back, but he went back to the couch to rest when it started getting too bad. He figured the others would get there soon, so after getting some more eggnog he decided to just stay on the couch. He channel surfed, and found a Garfield Christmas special that was probably halfway over. Good enough. He put his feet back on the pillow on the table and vegetated until he heard the door. He didn't get up, but he put his feet down and turned around so he could see them when they came in. Jaqueline was stunning in a short tight crushed velvet dress that was a shade darker than Christmas red. Billy remembered helping her choose it. Nico was in a pink suit and purple t-shirt combo that looked like it came straight from the set of Miami Vice, except the shirt had an unnecessarily large amount of glitter in it. Billy loved it. He figured he should change to something more festive too. He didn't even know if he'd packed something fancy, primarily because Jaqueline had done most of his packing, and he hadn't spent much time looking into the bag she'd packed. He waved and grinned. They both came over and plopped onto the couch with him, Nico halfway draped himself over Billy's shoulder, but was clearly careful to not put too much weight on his abused body. He hugged them both, then looked over at Steve, who was smiling in a dorky way that made him look very happy. Billy was instantly sure that no matter how much pain he was in, this was going to be the best Christmas in years. Maybe ever. He smiled back at Steve, sure he looked just as dorky, and he was perfectly okay with it. 

There was a jangle of keys hitting the designated key bowl by the door, then Steve came around the couch until he was facing all of them in their semi-pile. Billy wanted to pull him down in the pile with them.   
“I'm going to make coffee. Anyone else want some? Or anything else to drink? We have beer, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, eggnog, wine, soda, liquor.” He counted off on his fingers. “I basically bought a little of everything, just in case.”  
“Steve likes being prepared, like the boy scout he is.” Billy stuck out his tongue at him.  
“If the boy scouts ever stooped to having people like me on board it would be a much more interesting organization.”   
“Coffee sounds fine,” Jaqueline said and smiled. “Need any help in there, honey?”  
“After the coffee. I can handle that one on my own while you guys catch up.”  
“I'm cool with coffee too,” Nico added, like he was worried he'd be forgotten.   
“Cool. Billy?”  
Billy just nodded. Steve went to the kitchen and left them on their own.   
“You really got the hots for that guy,” said Nico immediately, without a hint of a question in his tone, in the hot Portuguese accent he purposefully nurtured to make it more pronounced.  
“Shut up.” Billy had no idea when, during the three minutes since they came through the door, he'd let slip that he actually had the hots for Steve, but apparently he had.   
“Anjo, you gotta jump on this while you have the chance. Steve's a catch. Like, totally a catch.”  
“Yeah, but I'm not.” Billy wondered what Steve would make of the angel endearment Nico had tacked on him in the second week after they first met. He had absolutely no intention of asking Nico to not use it. Ever.   
“He decides that, sugar. You let him make his own choices.” Jaqueline nudged him in the ribs, just hard enough to make him wince. “And you're more of a catch than you know.”  
“I sell my ass for money.”  
“At least you don't sell it for drugs.” She shrugged, knowing full well Billy had come close to doing just that. “Steve knows what you do, and he seems to be okay with it.”  
“I don't think he understands what I do.”  
“No, anjo, I talked to him about it.” Nico sounded excited suddenly. “He gets it. He's cool with it.”  
“Trust you to have that kind of conversation.” Billy rolled his eyes.   
“He called shotgun in the car just to have it.” Jaqueline reached across Billy to poke at Nico's shoulder with a finger.   
“Of course. Gotta know what you're dealing with.” He shrugged and looked entirely unapologetic.   
“I doubt he's actually cool with it.” Billy gave him a look of full skepticism.  
“Well, no, not _actually_ cool with it, but we're not _actually_ cool with it either. But he's cool enough with it to still want you. Trust me. You gotta go for it. Seriously, anjo, you have to.” He grabbed Billy's shirt to emphasize his point. It was like he was almost desperate.   
“Calm down, hot cakes. It's my choice. Okay? Don't push.” Billy spoke calmly, and he wasn't upset, but this wasn't how he wanted to spend Christmas.   
“Okay, okay.” Nico nodded, then grinned. “But if you don't go for him I might.”  
“That's definitely not somewhere you want to push.” Billy put a little threat in his tone, even though they both knew he didn't mean it.   
“Besides, Nico, Steve's got the hots for Billy, so you ain't got a chance.” Her tone was somewhere between teasing and lecturing.

“I feel like I've missed an important conversation,” Steve said out of nowhere.   
They were all startled into embarrassed silence. Billy recovered first.  
“They were just saying I should bone you as a Christmas present.”  
“While I wouldn't mind that kind of present, I have a feeling that's not what the conversation was about.” He was wearing a knowing smile when he put a tray of coffee in front of them. There was a large plate of Christmas cookies on it too.   
“Why am I not surprised you have an actual serving tray?”   
“Bite me, Hargrove.”  
“Later,” Billy said, purely out of habit. He didn't even think about saying it until after it was out. “How much did you hear?”   
“I eaves dropped on the entire conversation.”  
“Wait. Really?” Billy nearly choked. He did not want Steve to know he had the hots for him back, even though he probably did know already.   
“No, but I did hear the last sentence. You know, Nico's pretty cute, so I wouldn't say he's got no chance.” He took the things off the tray and set it aside.   
Billy was extremely impressed by Steve's calm acceptance of what he'd just heard. He'd expected him to freak out, and maybe babble excuses about the whole having the hots thing.   
“See, anjo? Gotta go for it.” Nico poked Billy's shoulder with two fingers.   
“Can we not have this conversation today?” Billy leaned forward and picked up a cup of coffee, effectively dislodging Nico from his perch.   
“Sure,” said Steve, now sitting on the armrest of the couch next to Jaqueline. “What does anjo mean?”  
“Angel,” answered Nico.  
“And you call _him_ that?”  
“Hey, thanks a fucking bunch, Harrington.”   
Steve grinned and stuck out his tongue. Billy stuck out his tongue back.  
“You don't think he looks like an angel?” Jaqueline said while snickering.   
“I think he looks like a punk.”  
“And here I thought I'd cleaned up with age.” Billy looked dramatically disappointed.   
“You've grown hotter with age, but all the jewelry makes you look like a punk.” Steve took a serene sip of his cup.   
“You don't like the jewelry?” Nico gave him a mild glare.   
“I love it. It makes him look like a punk.” He shrugged and grinned.   
They all snickered. 

The light mood made Steve's small worry they'd have an awkward day fade away. They'd be fine, and cooking dinner would be fun. It would be cramped, but fun. He just hoped they didn't mind that he'd be doing more cleaning than cooking. Someone had to do that too, and he was much better at that than at making good food. The shopping for today had been done by him and Jaqueline, with lists from the other two. The lady's muscles weren't just for show. They'd managed to get everything up to the apartment from the car in one trip, and Steve wasn't the one who had carried the bulk of the bags.   
“Okay, so the reason I call him anjo.” Nico was matching Steve's position on the other armrest, even though the couch seated three people. “I was working, and a couple of guys came up and started harassing me about getting a freebie, right? And by freebie I mean taking what they wanted whether or not I wanted it.”  
Steve involuntarily shivered at the implication.  
“Then Billy showed up, like a rescuing angel, and he laid down the wrath of god on them. I never saw them again.”   
“The reason I wasn't able to lay down said wrath of god on the guys who beat _me_ was that there were four of them, and they were looking to beat someone up, and I'm not _that_ good at fighting.” He sounded mildly defensive.   
“Dude,” said Steve, wanting to defend him, “I wouldn't have been able to take out two guys, let alone four.”  
“I seem to remember you being pretty good in a fight.”  
“Yeah, that's why I had the crap beat out of me by both you and Jonathan Byers.”   
“Oh shit, that kid beat you too. I'd forgotten that.” He chuckled, but it wasn't to make fun. “That was before I came to Hawkins, right? That idiot Tommy told me.”  
“That kid is the same age we are, and he had some weight to his punches. And he was pissed.” It was Steve's turn to sound defensive. “I haven't thought about Tommy in forever. Not that that's a loss.”  
“Useless sack of shit he was. Trumped up minion thinking he was important. Let me guess, he and that girl of his have three kids, are living in a run down trailer park now, and he has an alcohol problem.” He ticked off items on his fingers. “And he still thinks he's important.”  
“Good guess. Two kids, and she's not working, last I heard, but that was a couple of years ago now. As far as I know no drinking problem.”   
“So they probably got another one by now.” Billy grinned and finished his coffee. “How about we stop thinking about assholes and go cook some food?”  
“It'll be hard not to think about assholes when you're here, you being one and all.” Steve threw him his best cheeky grin.   
Billy threw a cookie at him. 

Making dinner ended up being even more fun than Steve had hoped. The atmosphere was relaxed, and they joked around. Jaqueline and Nico had that 'we're practically family' feel about them. In Billy's case they probably already were family at this point. They made Christmas dinner must-haves for everyone. Billy helped Steve make candied yams, even though he gave Steve a look when he heard it contained marshmallows. Steve could hardly believe someone had gone through life without hearing about it. His mom made it every year, but Steve had never been able to get it right on his own. Maybe Billy was the magic ingredient needed. When Steve thought about it, Billy might be the magic ingredient for a lot of things in his life. Billy's own-must have was a simple cranberry sauce. Steve found it oddly cute. The turkey was massive, and they made enough sides for about twelve people. The idea was to have enough leftovers for everyone. They all agreed Christmas needed leftovers. Lots of them. It took a long time to finish everything, and they had several breaks. Some breaks were to let Billy rest a while, but others were for no good reason. All four were smokers, so even though it was cold out they had to open a couple of windows from time to time. They had all day, and were expecting no one. Eventually dinner was plated and served, with only a few sides gone cold, and they sat down to eat. Jaqueline and Nico on one side of the table, and Steve and Billy on the other side. Steve was tasked with carving the turkey. He would have been happy to leave it to Billy, but Billy claimed sore wrists, and the others insisted Steve should carve because he was the host. He managed to do it without making a mess of it, but it was a close call. 

Everything Billy tried during the dinner tasted great, even Steve's marshmallow thing.   
“Well, Steve, is the marshmallow thing to your liking?”  
“It's fucking awesome. You nailed it.” To further show he meant it Steve added more to his plate.   
Hearing that made Billy happier than he wanted to admit. It felt important to have managed that.   
“No offense to your cooking skill, anjo, but this is the best Christmas dinner we ever had.” Nico stuffed more food in his mouth almost before he finished the sentence.   
“None taken. I agree.”  
“You usually make Christmas dinner?” Steve sounded interested.   
“I usually make most dinners.” Billy shrugged.   
“None of you ever celebrate with family? I mean like, parents and stuff.” Steve looked at the others.   
“I have no idea where my parents live, actually,” said Nico unconcernedly. “I don't have any contact with them.”  
“I know where mine live, but they only want to have contact with me when I'm Robert, and I ain't got time for that shit.” Jaqueline shook her head in a way that exuded sass.   
“When you're Robert?” Steve looked confused.  
Billy burst out laughing. He couldn't help himself. All he could do was try to make his ribs hurt as little as possible while he was doing it.  
“You mean you didn't realize?” The words came out of Billy almost in a stutter.   
“Realize what?”  
“That I wasn't born a woman, honey.” Jaqueline smiled and looked happy Steve was confused.  
“Nope, I didn't realize that at all.” He shook his head, looking no less bewildered. “Really?”  
Billy laughed more, interspersed with small groans of pain, and hoped Steve wouldn't get upset with him. Or Jaqueline. “The biceps didn't give it away? The voice? Look at those arms, man. And the legs.”  
Jaqueline threw a pea at Billy, followed by a few more, thrown individually.   
“What? You've got great legs.” He defended himself between giggles.   
“I just thought you were a really buff woman.” Steve looked at Jaqueline and shrugged, looking embarrassed. He then threw some peas at Billy too. “And don't laugh at me, asshole. I'm not a bright man.”  
“Honestly, I'm flattered.” Jaqueline smiled at Steve, but threw a few more peas at Billy for good measure.  
“What do you think now, then?” Nico was smiling, but looked hesitant to join in fully.   
Billy knew where the hesitation came from. They'd met many not so fun reactions to Jaqueline in the past. In some way this might function as a sort of test for Steve. His answer might decide how much they liked him for a while.   
“That she's a really buff woman?” The words came out hesitantly. “I dunno. Am I supposed to change my mind about something now?”  
“No, sugar. I think it would be great if you think of me just like you have up until now.”  
“Cool, then let's do that.” He nodded, looking relieved. “You be Jaqueline, Billy's buff but pretty female roommate. I'll be Steve, Billy's... actually, I don't know what I am. I mean, I know, sort of, but I don't know what to call it. ”  
“Friend is cool.” Billy knew there was much more to it, but didn't know what to call it either.  
“Friend is very cool.” Steve nodded and looked pleased.   
“How about boyfriend?” Nico shot in.   
Billy stole a pea from Steve's plate just to throw it at Nico.  
“Hey, get your own peas!”  
“I don't want them on my plate. I hate peas.”  
Steve responded by spearing a couple of peas on his fork, getting lucky by catching two without having to chase them all over the plate, and eating them slowly. It was oddly hot. Billy had to push away thoughts of other things he could watch Steve eat slowly. Or suck on slowly. 

After dinner they were all so full that even Steve voted against cleaning up right away. All he did was clear a space for the tree. They brought their drinks and gathered in front of the TV. Steve took one of the dining chairs over and placed it next to the couch, since it only seated three people comfortably. He sat down on the chair himself, to make sure all his guests got spots on the couch. He should probably invest in a comfortable recliner or something, but he almost never had guests over so it seemed a bit of a waste. He supposed Billy might be more comfortable in a recliner now that he was recuperating, but Steve liked being able to sit next to him. Even now Steve was next to the end of the couch Billy was sitting on.   
“Wanna sit on my lap, Steve?” Billy grinned and patted his thighs with both hands.   
“With your legs in their current condition? I don't want to have to carry you to bed tonight, dude.”  
“I wouldn't mind that at all.”  
Steve scoffed. Billy took charge of the channel surfing. Steve didn't have any Christmas movies, so that was out. Maybe he should put the kids on that for next year. He wondered if Billy would be around to have Christmas with him next year. Since he took time off for this Christmas, Steve wouldn't take time off next year. Doing it every year was just unreasonable. Sometimes being a sensible adult sucked. Thankfully he didn't always have to be a sensible adult. Sometimes he could do things like get stoned in a car wash with Billy Hargrove and have his dick sucked. Billy found a Smurf Christmas special and left it on that channel. Steve considered pulling out Christmas weed to go with it. They watched it to the end; none of them doing much talking. They were all stuffed and lethargic, but since it was Christmas Steve felt compelled to go get them cookies and sweets anyway. Instead of the kind of dessert you served at the table they'd opted for cakes and stuff to be served in front of the TV. With chocolate sauce and whipped cream to add to whatever they felt like, regardless of whether or not it fit. Nico had made a Brazilian French toast thing called rabanadas Steve was dying to try. Christmas was the season of gluttony, so even though they were all ready to burst they all took something when he put it in front of them. The rabanadas were awesome. The cinnamon made them even better than they could have been. He'd be putting cinnamon on French toast the next time he made it for the kids. Or rather, when he and the kids made it together. 

A few hours passed, with some random chatter, lots of snacking, and stupid things on the TV. Steve suddenly noticed Billy had nodded off. He grinned and made the others aware, without waking him. They all got up and went to the kitchen, where they decided to quietly clean up after dinner and divide the leftovers. They'd bought disposable plastic containers for the occasion. Working together it didn't take long. Steve was happy for the hand, even though he wouldn't have minded doing it himself. Jaqueline paused in the middle of putting her and Nico's part of the leftovers in a bag.   
“Is he okay?”  
“As well as can be expected, I guess,” Steve said. “I think he hurts a little less, but he still doesn't move around more than he has to.”   
“God damn, I want to fucking kill the people who did that to him.” Jaqueline's normal way of speaking faltered. Her accent changed, and she dropped the endearments he liked. Even her voice deepened a little.   
Steve thought maybe if he'd heard her talk like that before he might have cottoned on to the whole Robert thing, minus the name, of course.   
“You like him.” She was serious, but her tone wasn't unkind. It wasn't a question.   
“I more than like him.” Steve hoped she could hear his honesty.  
Nico stopped what he was doing, but didn't involve himself in the conversation.   
“Do you think it's a good idea to get involved with him?” The deepening of the voice faded away. Steve was glad for it.   
“I don't care if it's a good idea. I want it.” He shrugged.   
“Maybe I shouldn't be saying this, but he wants it too.” She looked over at Nico, who nodded. “He's just worried about the negative impact it could have on you.”  
“Yeah, I know. And as I've told him, I'm perfectly capable of making my own choices when it comes to negative impact.” He looked at both of them in turn. He wanted them to understand this. “I'm not a teenager. I might be new to this whole gay thing, but I'm not young and stupid anymore. I know people's opinions of it, and the irrational fear and anger directed at it. Even if I hadn't been aware before, what happened to Billy really drove it home.”  
“Yeah.” Her tone saddened. It was probably a result of experience. “Some people are like that. There's also what he does for a living to consider.”  
“Like I told Nico in the car, I'm not gonna pretend I'm thrilled about it, but it's just not a good enough reason to not want him in my life, as much as possible. As close as possible. The dude is awesome.” Steve grinned, more to himself than her. “I mean, he has issues and he's a bit of a dick, but he's still awesome.”  
“Not Mr. Perfect, then?” She smiled, looking and sounding normal now.  
“Perfect is boring, and being boring is against Billy's nature.”  
She giggled and nodded. It seemed she got what she wanted out of the conversation. Steve hoped he'd answered things correctly. These were people he wanted to be okay with he and Billy maybe being more than friends. Nico and Jaqueline finished packing their booty and got ready to go. Steve was going to drive them home. He wouldn't accept anything else. He wrote a quick note, in case Billy woke up while he was away, but he resisted the urge to put a blanket on him. They all practically tiptoed out. 

Billy woke up alone on the couch, with the TV running in front of him. Shit, he must have passed out without even noticing. He didn't hear any activity anywhere, so they'd probably left. He was a little annoyed they left without waking him to say bye, but it passed quickly. It wasn't like he wouldn't see them again, and soon. He stretched carefully. Thanks to his ribs he did everything carefully these days. It annoyed the shit out of him, but being annoyed was preferable to being in pain. Speaking of pain, it was probably time to have another painkiller. He got up and hobbled to the bathroom, and Steve's medicine cabinet. Billy had teased him for calling it that, but Steve had ignored him and put away the medication. Billy smiled to himself at Steve's disposition toward keeping things organized. Billy wasn't a messy person in general, but there was a difference between tidy and organized. Maybe he should set Steve loose on his wardrobe sometime. He went back to the living room, grabbed three cookies, and sat down to wait. He hoped he didn't fall asleep again. He'd missed the tail end of his friends' visit. He definitely didn't want to miss more of the evening with Steve. Not after they'd kissed again today. He didn't know what to do about Steve. Could he really do the whole boyfriend thing? The question wasn't whether he could, but whether he should. He wanted to. How could he not want to? Steve was a fucking awesome person, and fucking hot to boot. Teenage Billy's crush on Steve had come from two things. The first was that everyone referred to him as King Steve. It made Billy want to see what the fuss was about. The second was that he'd quickly realized Steve was a tough bastard who never backed away from anything. Tough was hot. Billy now had fallen for Steve because he was still a tough bastard, but in a different way from before. He was sure Steve still wouldn't back down from a fight, though he'd probably do a lot to try to avoid it out of sense, but it was the way he didn't back down from unpleasant facts that really got to Billy now. He looked past the prostitution and issues, like he didn't see them. No, not like he didn't see them, but like they weren't a deterrent. He saw Billy as just Billy. He was also fun and crazy in the right ways. He was basically everything Billy wanted in a person, and he could be really cute, which was a bonus. But the thing that made Billy hesitate most, even more than the fact he was a whore, was that Steve was a good person in a way Billy had never been. An asshole like Billy hooking up with a good guy like Steve just seemed wrong somehow. But was that really a good enough reason to not go for it? 

His thoughts were interrupted by said good guy coming home. It was a good thing too, because Billy had started getting broody, and broody was bullshit. Steve grinned when he saw Billy was awake.  
“Good morning, sleepy head.”  
“Fuck off.” Billy grinned back, to maybe hide he might be a little bit embarrassed.   
“Sorry for just leaving. We all agreed you were too adorable to wake up.”   
Billy gave him the finger. Steve surprised the hell out of him by climbing over the back of the couch to sit down instead of going around. He curled his feet under himself and sat facing Billy.   
“I really want to kiss you.”  
“Who says you can't?” Billy smiled, but felt a stab of nervousness. It felt like something was up.   
“Be my boyfriend.”  
“Steve...” Of course. He should have expected it after today.   
“Yeah, I know.” Steve held up his hands in a placating manner. “I said I wouldn't bring it up, and I haven't, but you're being stupid about it.”   
“Stupid how?” Billy was aware he was being stupid about it, but he didn't like having it told to him so bluntly.   
“You want it too, but you're trying to do the right thing or whatever by saying no. Don't think I don't know that.” He crossed his arms, which was awkward given how he was sitting.   
“You got it all figured out, huh?” Billy was surprised at how angry it sounded. He didn't feel angry, but he didn't like this conversation.   
“Fuck the right thing, Billy. Fuck trying to protect me from whatever it is you feel I need protecting from. Fuck sensible, and fuck whatever other reason we can come up with.” He uncrossed his arms and grabbed Billy's arm. He didn't squeeze it, but Billy could tell he wanted to. “We both really fucking like each other, and it could be awesome, so why the fuck not?”  
“It might not be awesome,” Billy said, but he could feel there wasn't much protest left in him.   
“If it ends up not being awesome we can just stop. It's not like we'll be locked up in a house together forever. If it sucks we can stop. I just want us to fucking start and see what happens.” He looked down at Billy's arm and rubbed it gently. “I'm a big boy, Billy. If I get hurt I can handle it.”  
“And what if I can't?” It was the thought of Steve ending up not liking him and not wanting to see him anymore that was Billy's biggest fear. There was no way he'd say that out loud.   
“You getting hurt or me getting hurt?” Steve looked at him with those god damn pretty eyes of his, and Billy's resolve weakened more.   
“Can't we just leave this alone for now?” At this point Billy was almost willing to say please to make the conversation stop, even if it made him sound sad and pathetic.   
“No, we can't.” He tipped his head back in exasperation before looking back at Billy. “Jesus Christ, man, you kiss me because you like it, and you like _me_. You have sex with me because it's fun. While you've been here we've had cool and stupid conversations, and we like the same kind of movies. We even binged on Sandman together, because we both think it's the shit. We've been falling asleep together, without fucking first. What more do you want?”   
Billy didn't have an answer. That list was both awesome and telling. He thought of bringing up that they weren't into the same kind of music, but that would just be a feeble excuse. It wasn't like they hated each others' music. Steve reached out and touched his face. Billy didn't pull away from it. He closed his eyes. Steve was right; Billy did really fucking like him. He was right about everything else he'd said too. He didn't need Billy making sacrifices for him. He didn't need protecting, regardless of whether or not Billy felt a need to do so. Billy sighed, mostly to himself, and looked at Steve again. God, the man was beautiful. 

Looking at Billy's closed eyes it struck Steve that bringing this up now might not have been the smartest choice, but he needed it to happen. He looked at Billy struggling with himself. He wanted to make it better, but there wasn't much he could do. Billy opened his eyes finally and looked straight into Steve's. Steve's breath nearly caught when he was hit by the intensity of Billy's attention.   
“Fine.”  
“What?” Steve said it even though he had heard what Billy said. He was just having trouble processing it.   
“Let's do the boyfriend thing and see what happens.”  
Steve nearly jumped up and fist pumped. That would be a terrible reaction. Instead he leaned in and kissed Billy. He was kissed back with no hesitation. They got into it fast, and before long Steve was as much in Billy's lap as he could be without actually sitting in it. Even while making out like teenagers he was aware that the man he was kissing was hurt. The boyfriend he was kissing. Holy shit. Steve fucking Harrington had a fucking boyfriend. If that wasn't a mind bender nothing was. He wondered what the kids would say. That was a holy shit too. The kids hated Billy, and not without reason. He hadn't told them anything about knowing Billy now. Not even Max. He'd waited, because he wasn't sure where things would go with him, but also because he had no idea how to start that conversation. Now that he knew more about where thing were going he would figure it out. Somehow. It wasn't important right now. What was important right now was Billy; his lips, his tongue, his hands on Steve's body, the shared sounds they were making. He was tasting, touching, _breathing_ Billy, but it wasn't enough. He wanted more. He pulled back slowly, and looked into Billy's now dazed eyes.   
“You're fucking gorgeous, and I want to make you come.”  
“Then make me come, pretty boy. Just be gentle.”  
Steve laughed. “Be gentle because it's your first time?”   
“My first time having a proper boyfriend?” He smiled warmly, and it melted Steve. “Yes, it is.”  
“Really?” Steve pulled back a little further in surprise, to get a better look at the other man. He would have expected Billy to have had at least a couple. The guy was hot as hell and fun to be around. Maybe he was just picky. But then, he'd said yes to Steve of all people, “fine” if he were to be completely accurate, so that was sort of out the window too.   
“Mhm, so don't expect me to know what to do about it.” Billy reached up and stroked gentle fingers along Steve's chin.   
“It's my first time too, so we can figure it out together.” He leaned into the touch without even thinking.   
“While having lots of sex.” Billy grinned and licked his lips.   
“While having lots of sex,” Steve agreed, and slid a hand into Billy's pants. 

The startled gasp that came from Billy made both of them grin. Steve felt Billy's cock harden against the palm of his hand. It made Steve's own cock harden in his pants. It took so little to turn him on when he was with Billy. Hell, just thinking about Billy made him hard sometimes. Now he wanted to make Billy come apart. He got up and kissed Billy's temple.  
“I'll be right back.”  
“You better not fucking dawdle, Harrington.”  
“Patience, boyfriend. You'll like it.” Even though he used it himself the word boyfriend made his stomach tingle.   
He hurried to the bathroom to get the flavored condoms. He took the cherry ones, just to be a dick, and to see what Billy would say. Then he went to the kitchen and got the chocolate sauce and leftover whipped cream from earlier. When he came back to the couch with his haul Billy flashed his best “this is fucking awesome” grin, and he did the tongue thing Steve loved. Billy tried to take the items, but Steve put the things on the floor and kneeled in front of him. The glossy look of lust in Billy's eyes made Steve almost giddy, and gave him an odd feeling of power. He was doing this to him. He was turning Billy on so much he looked ready to come before they even started. He undid Billy's pants and pulled them and his underwear down. Billy helped by lifting his hips so Steve could pull the clothes from under him. Steve held up the cherry condom. Billy gave him a look of disapproval. Steve grinned at him.   
“I have whipped cream and chocolate sauce. They need a cherry on top. Or in this case, as the base.”  
“Fair enough. Have at it, pretty boy.” His voice was husky.   
“I fully intend to, hot stuff.” Steve opened the condom wrapper with little trouble, but he did have a moment of fearing he was going to fuck up putting it on. 

He didn't fuck it up. He rolled it on quickly and easily. Billy was so hard it was almost like putting it on actual wood. Steve did an experimental lick up the shaft. Billy groaned low in his throat. Steve looked up at him and he looked like Steve probably wouldn't even need the other items to get him off. He was going to use them anyway. He picked up the whipped cream first, and slowly covered the entirety of Billy's cock. Billy gasped at the cold. The whipped cream started melting from the heat of Billy's skin, so Steve hurried with the chocolate sauce. He looked at his Christmas treat and grinned to himself. It looked delicious. He opened his mouth wide and gaped over the head of the cock, cream and all. He sucked and swallowed. It felt very interesting to swallow cream while he had the head of a cock in his mouth. The whipped cream, chocolate, and cherry flavors mingled together. He continued sucking, moving his mouth up and down the shaft. He loved how it felt, even more than last time. Some of the melting cream leaked out of his mouth and smeared his chin. He hadn't been able to get enough of Billy's cock in his mouth to get all the cream, so he got cream and chocolate sauce on his nose and cheeks. It was hot, and wet, and sticky, and messy, and fucking amazing. Judging by the sounds coming out of Billy he thought it was fucking amazing too. Steve looked up at him, still with the cock in his mouth. Billy's mouth was half open, and he was breathing unsteadily. He was looking intently at Steve's mouth. Steve smiled around the cock in his mouth. Billy ran a finger along Steve's lips, picking up melted cream and chocolate, and then licked it off while looking into Steve's eyes. Steve was already hard, but apparently there had been room to get even harder, because seeing that made it happen. He had to undo his pants just to avoid pain.   
“Pants getting a little tight there, cowboy?”  
Steve let the cock drop from his lips with a plop. He smiled sweetly up at Billy.   
“You need to think long and hard about how smart you want to get with me, hot stuff, because right now I have direct access to your balls.” Steve slid a hand under Billy's testicles and took firm hold of them. He didn't squeeze, but he held them good.   
“I know a few things you can do to my balls.” Billy spread his legs to give Steve better access.   
“Me too. You're not gonna like all of them.” Steve gave Billy's balls a quick squeeze to make his point.   
Billy chuckled, but also pushed his pelvis forward, like he liked it. Steve filed it away as something to be explored for potential exploitation during sex. In fact, that exploration could start now. 

When Steve squeezed his balls Billy knew he was in trouble. When Steve went back to sucking on his sticky treat Billy realized the trouble was more imminent than first anticipated. His balls were getting more attention now, and Steve was sucking harder and faster. God, he was going to blow his load fast enough to be embarrassing if this kept up. He didn't have the willpower to try to put the brakes on it. It felt so fucking good. Steve was so fucking good at this already. This time he was more sure of himself, and some playfulness was coming out. He had hold of the base of Billy's dick with one hand, and his testicles with the other hand, and he used them both to add pleasure to the sucking. Billy put a hand on Steve's head and gently guided him to move faster. Steve flicked a glance up at Billy, and complied. Billy involuntarily lifted his hips in time, in spite of the pain it caused. Pleasure and tension pooled in his groin. Fuck. His head thumped back against the back of the couch, and he could no longer breathe right. His ribs complained loudly, but he didn't care. All he cared about was the fact he was about eight seconds away from coming like a fucking rocket. The hand on Steve's head clenched, and probably pulled on his hair. Steve responded with a sound that radiated into Billy's dick, and that did it. He moaned loudly as his orgasm rushed through him. He wasn't normally verbal during sex, but he felt too good right now to not give in to the urge. He had no want to hold back with Steve. He was on the verge of being overstimulated when Steve let go. Billy lifted his head and looked at him, and what he saw made him smile. Steve was sitting on the floor, jerking off. He still had a hand on Billy's dick, playing with it while getting himself off. It was both hot and adorable to watch.   
“Want some help there, pretty boy?”  
“With your sprained wrists?” He raised an eyebrow.   
“I have other body parts,” Billy said, and shrugged.   
“That are equally hurt.” Steve let go of Billy's dick long enough to wave his hand dismissively. “Now shut up and let me handle this while I imagine blowing my load on your face.”  
A laugh was startled out of Billy. Steve was awesome. Pervert in the making.   
“You know, pretty boy, you don't have to just imagine it.”  
Steve released a little gasp of pleasure. Billy scooted until he was on the floor next to him.   
“If you get up and sit on the table you should be roughly the right height to hit to my face when you come.”  
“And you'll let me?” There was a small touch of awe in his voice.   
“Of course I will.” Billy smiled mischievously. “I'm your boyfriend.”   
Another pleasured gasp, before Steve got up and sat on the edge of the table. Billy edged over until he was between Steve's legs. He reached over and started kneading the inside of Steve's thighs. His wrists might not be up to jerking Steve off, though he wasn't sure he agreed with that, but he could help out. It wasn't long before Steve was panting irregularly, and the muscles in his lower body tightened.   
“Come on, pretty boy, give it to me. All over my face. Cover it.” Billy kept murmuring encouragements while he moved his hands further up Steve's body, until he could rub his balls and put pressure on his lower abdomen. Steve moaned brokenly, with occasional sounds that were almost whimpers. Suddenly he got up and leaned over Billy. Billy closed his eyes only a second before the first splatter of hot semen hit his cheek. More followed in quick succession. His eyelid, his forehead, his mouth. He licked his lips; tasting it, enjoying it. He heard Steve coming down from his orgasm. With come on his eyelid he wasn't about to open his eyes to check if he was right. Semen on your eyeball wasn't pleasant. He knew that from experience. He leaned his head back comfortably against the seat cushions and waited. 

Steve looked down at the messy man in front of him. Billy's groin was sticky, with spots of chocolate still on it, and his face was covered in come. He looked incredible.   
“Don't move. I'll go get something to clean you up with.”   
“You could always lick me clean.” Billy licked semen from the side of his mouth, like it was ice cream after eating a soft serve too fast.   
“Ew.”   
Billy laughed. Steve went to the bathroom, quickly cleaned himself up, and got a washcloth. He dampened it with warm water and went back to the living room with it. Billy was still on the floor. Steve sat down in front of him and started wiping his face. Billy just let him do it without a word. When he was done with his face Steve moved to his groin. The condom was still halfway on his now limp cock. He took it off and started cleaning up the chocolate and cream left over on the skin.   
“Careful there, or you might get me hard again.” Billy still hadn't opened his eyes, even though his face was clean now. He looked completely relaxed.   
“If you get hard again you're going to have to take care of it yourself.” Steve carefully   
“With sprained wrists?” He lifted both hands to make his point, still with his eyes closed.  
“Yes. And you're not coming on my face.” Steve held up a lecturing finger, even though Billy couldn't see it.   
“God damn it. Killjoy.” Billy opened his eyes just to give Steve a cheeky stare.   
“I just sucked you off, asshole. Don't complain.” Steve stuck out his tongue at him, and got a grin in return.   
“You're really good at it, by the way. The cock sucking.” He said it in a gentle and sincere way that made Steve a little melty.   
“Thanks. I think.”   
“You're really good at the kissing too, so if you want to get right back on that I won't complain.” His tone was cocky, and he said it in a tone that said he was fully expecting to get what he wanted.   
Steve happily complied, and they ended up making out on the floor a while, before moving up to the couch to continue there. They spent the entire rest of the evening acting like horny teenagers at a party, and it was awesome. In the middle of it Steve thought this boyfriend thing so far was pretty fucking awesome, and that he could hardly wait for their first date.


	12. Chapter 12

It was early evening and Steve was probably more nervous than he should be. He shouldn't be nervous, because he was just going out with Billy, but he _was_ nervous because he was going out with Billy. They were going out on their first proper date. Steve had been on many dates before, both before and after moving to the city, but this was _Billy_. Also, every single one of the other dates had been with girls, and going out with a guy was different, and could come with some challenges if people found out they were on a date. Probably no one would find out, or care. It wasn't exactly hard to just come off as a couple of dudes having a beer together on a Friday night. Unless they were going to a blatant gay bar. He had no idea. Billy had said he knew just the place, and Steve trusted him to choose somewhere good. He was sure Billy wanted this evening to be good just as much as he did. Billy had told him to dress casual, but sexy. He wouldn't say why. Steve didn't know if that had anything to do with where they were going, or if Billy just wanted to ogle him. He went with a pair of gray jeans he knew did nice things to his ass, a Knight Rider t-shirt, a maroon button up shirt he didn't button, a pile lined dark brown leather jacket, and sneakers. Looking at himself in the mirror he thought he looked pretty good, without going overboard with the sexy. Truthfully he didn't own a lot of clothes that would be considered sexy. He had a lot of respectable clothes, and casual clothes chosen for comfort rather than style. He spent too long on his hair, but that wasn't unusual. His hair had always been one of his best features. He checked his watch, decided it wasn't too early, and called a cab. He definitely didn't want to be hassled with a car tonight, and he planned on drinking. While he had occasionally driven while stoned, rare enough to be called 'almost never', he had no intention of ever driving drunk. He gave himself another once over, then went to wait for the cab downstairs. He'd fuss if he didn't. 

Billy was standing in the cold, wishing he'd worn something warmer than a leather biker jacket. He wasn't quite sure if choosing black jeans over leather pants had been the right choice, but he was committed now, and jeans were more comfortable. Besides, wearing all leather looked literally gay. At least his boots were warm. He'd arrived early at the place he'd told Steve to meet him. It was a result of annoying bus routes and nerves. What made him nervous was not knowing if Steve would like where Billy wanted to take him. The first place was probably cool, but the second place was a little more risky. A cab pulled up on the other side of the street, and Billy grinned when he saw Steve step out of it. He looked really good, even from a distance. Billy sauntered over to him, trying to look hot. The look on Steve's face when he saw him told him he pulled it off.   
“Hi, Steve.”  
“Hi, Billy.”  
“Looking good.” Billy nodded at him casually.   
“You too.” Steve nodded back and smiled. “So where are we going?”   
“This way.”   
Billy started walking, and Steve quickly caught up to walk beside him. They didn't touch each other at all. They were both aware that giving away their status as a couple in any way would be a bad idea. Depending on who realized it would be a _very_ bad one. It didn't take long for them to get to their destination. An unassuming little bar tucked away between two flashy ones. The windows sported the name “Bar Javel”. He pointed to it. Steve looked at it sideways.   
“That's an odd name for a bar. Or maybe I'm just not used to bar names.”  
“I asked about it once. The first owner was from Norway, and that's apparently a sort of universal word in the city he's from.”  
“Universal how?”  
“It can apparently mean just about anything. Hello, bye, okay, 'what the fuck', 'what did you say, bitch'. You can use it when you believe someone and don't believe them, to show interest and disinterest. He said socially it can mean anything, depending on context and tone of voice.” He shrugged. “It's pronounced ya-well, by the way.”  
“I'm not even going to try to pronounce that.” Steve paused to think a moment. “Doesn't a word lose its meaning when you can apply it to anything?”  
“Fuck if I know. It's just what the dude told me. I think he gets a lot of questions about it.” Billy pointed to the door. “Let's go inside. Hopefully there's a nice out of the way table available.”  
“Out of the way sounds nice.” He gave Billy a suggestive look.   
Billy grinned and led the way inside. 

The bar was quieter than Steve had expected. There were a lot of people there, but they were mostly talking instead of shouting; unlike every other bar in the world Friday night. There was music coming through speakers mounted on the ceiling, but it was music you could have a conversation during. The lighting wasn't dark, but was pleasantly dim. Steve instantly liked the place. Moment after entering through the door Billy surprised the hell out of him by grabbing his hand and more or less pulling him to an empty table. It wasn't all the way in the back, but it was close enough, and against a wall. Billy held out a chair for him. Steve gave him a look, but sat down.   
“Beer? Drink?” Billy looked to be enjoying the gentleman act.   
“Beer is fine. Thank you.”  
Billy went to the bar to order. Steve looked around at the other people. They seemed like your average Friday night drinkers, except they seemed to be at the bar to be social rather than get drunk. People talked across tables, and there was a good mix of people sitting along the bar chatting. The mood in the room was friendly. It didn't seem like it was a gay bar. There was a relatively even mix of men and women, and there were no public displays of affection floating around. But, Billy had changed his behavior as soon as they entered. He'd relaxed, and even in the few seconds it took to get to the table he seemed to drop the mask of just being friends. When he returned with the beers and sat down, Steve had to ask.  
“Is this a gay bar or something?”  
They were sitting at the same corner of a four person table. Steve liked how close they were. It felt like a date.   
“Nope. It's just gay friendly.” Billy leaned forward and looked at Steve like he was the most interesting thing in the world. It made Steve's stomach squirm.   
“What does that entail?”  
“I means that as long as we don't try to fuck in the bathrooms they don't give a shit about our gender or relationship. And even then they don't give a shit other than that it's rude to fuck in someone else's bathroom.”  
“That's friendly?” Steve lifted an eyebrow.  
“It's at least equal.” Billy shrugged and grinned. “But really, the people here are nice, and we don't have to pretend to just be buddies while we're here, and that's really fucking cool. In fact, this place is so cool I've never turned tricks here, and that's saying something.”  
“Meaning you'll turn tricks anywhere? Whatever that means.” Steve thought it probably meant something to do with prostitution.   
“I like how you don't know the slang. If I've seen a dude out drunk who looks like he'd be willing to pay for sex with another dude, I have been known to go for it.” The admission was matter of fact.   
“I see. But never here.” Steve pointed vaguely to the rest of the room.   
“Never here.” Billy shook his head.   
“Cool.”   
Billy suddenly turned oddly serious, and Steve wondered if he'd said something wrong. Instead of asking he waited to see what the other man would say. 

It was time to have a conversation that might be unpleasant, but Billy felt this was a good spot and time to start having it. Steve looked uncomfortable, so if Billy wanted to have this talk he'd have to start now. He didn't want Steve to start freaking out or something. Billy drank some beer and jumped in.  
“You've asked me how I ended up doing what I do for a living, and I've never answered you.”  
“Yeah, I know, but I don't want to force you to talk about it.” He shrugged.   
“You're definitely not forcing me. You still want to know?”  
“I do.” Steve nodded and had some beer. “This is pretty good.”  
“It is. Okay.” Billy drank some more beer, took a steeling breath, and just started talking. “It started with my dad. I know that doesn't come as a big surprise.”  
“Not even remotely.” Steve shook his head.   
“He's a massive piece of shit, and I've spent most of my life scared of him, and hating him. But, that's sort of besides the point right now. He found a magazine in my bedroom, came to the conclusion I was gay, and beat the everloving shit out of me. Like, belt and all.”  
“Gay porn?” He raised his eyebrows.   
“No, that's the fucking insulting part.” Billy struggled to not get angry. He was going to tell it. He didn't have to live it. “It was a workout magazine. I was working on my abs and was looking for pointers. That asshole just saw male skin and decided I was gay and that he needed to beat it out of me. Me actually being into men is completely fucking incidental.”  
“Holy shit.”  
“I never at any point while living with him had any gay porn in my possession anywhere near home. I knew how pissed he would get if he found it, and turns out I was fucking right.”  
“That makes the whole thing even worse.” Steve looked scandalized. “I mean, it was fucking bad to begin with, but holy fuck.”  
“Yeah.” There wasn't much more to say about it, so Billy only nodded. “That same night I packed a bag, took the car, and left.”  
“You don't have the car now.” He didn't ask what had happened to it, but it was implied he was expecting Billy to explain.   
“No, I had the same problem you did. The car was in my dad's name. He got it for me when I was 15, to impress some guys he thought were important. Show he was a cool dad who got manly gifts for his boy.” Billy rolled his eyes. He couldn't help it. “It wasn't in top shape when he got it, because there was a limit to how much money he was willing to spend on me. Someone had run it off an embankment and screwed it up, then decided to sell it instead of having it repaired. The brand was more important than the state of it. I spent a lot of time fixing it and turning it into an awesome car. He liked that I was doing manly mechanics stuff. Not that he ever told me to my face. Fuck, that man was obsessed with turning me macho. Not that I was ever actually girly. I'm all over the macho stuff.” He grinned for a second. “He told me if I didn't get in trouble he'd give it to me when I turned 18. Never happened. He wanted the leverage.”  
“Asshole.”   
“I knew he'd send the cops after me when he found out I'd left, so I ditched the car at a gas station right inside the city limits. I spent the next couple of days trying to figure out what the hell to do. I had some money saved up, so I could get a cheap nasty room to sleep in, and I did what any good kid on a city adventure would.”  
“Looked for work?” Steve raised an eyebrow in a way that said he didn't _really_ think that was what Billy had done.  
“Found a place willing to sell alcohol to me so I could get piss drunk.”  
Steve laughed quietly. Billy knew he could relate. Steve had been a punk too.   
“I was beat the hell up, and bitter as hell that I'd been beat for being gay over something as stupid as a workout mag, when the man knew I was putting a lot of work into my muscle tone. Or maybe he didn't know. He didn't really care much when it didn't affect how things reflected on his abilities as a father. He showed me no trust that day, and no willingness to believe anything I said. Right then I hated him more for that than the beating itself. So, I decided to find a gay bar to get drunk in. Very drunk.”

Steve got up and snagged an ashtray off another table. They both lit up with the same turn of Billy's zippo lighter.   
“I remember you being really good at getting drunk.” Steve leaned back in his chair and looked relaxed; blowing smoke up into the air. “Even better than me.”  
“Hell yeah.” Billy grinned and licked his bottom lip, like he'd done constantly when he was a teen. Sometimes the habit came back, like it had when he first met Steve again. “That gay bar was where the next part of my adventure started. Not that night, or even that week. I'd look for something useful to do during the day, and then go there to get drunk in the evenings. The places I tried to get work didn't want to hire a teen. I tried lying about my age, but people weren't buying it. I was really good at the tough guy act, but shit, the first few weeks living in the city were scary. I had no idea what I was doing, and my charm wasn't getting me shit.” Billy pushed away the memory of his confusion when it failed him the first time. His charm had been well honed even then, and not being able to rely on it to get what he wanted had almost scared him more than not having income. Being bruised and beaten probably had something to do with it, but it had still been a frightening experience. “I was starting to run low on money, and didn't want to turn to crime to survive. Seemed like a bad idea when my dad might have already called the cops on me.”  
“You think he did? Call the cops, I mean.”   
“I dunno.” Billy shrugged. “Not to put in a missing persons report, that's for sure. I went back to the gas station after a couple of weeks, and the car was gone. I didn't stick around long enough to ask about it.”  
“So you had no car, no job, and was running low on money.”  
“Yep. All useful excuses, along with being drunk, that I called on when a guy asked me to give him a handjob for pay one night at the bar.”  
“Oh shit.” It wasn't an expression of surprise. It was more an expression of interest in the story.   
“Yeah. It was just a handjob, and he offered a lot of money, so I thought fuck it and followed him to the bathroom.” Billy shrugged again, and resisted the urge to make more excuses to defend his actions. Steve already knew what he did for a living. “It was a messy handjob, and I was kind of disgusted with myself after, but it was easy money. I wasn't short on guys hitting on me on any night. It was where a lot of my alcohol came from. So, I started carefully suggesting I could give them handjobs if they gave me money.”  
“Right.”  
“And then one guy asked for a blowjob. By then I'd found Crapville, a place to sleep there, and people who wanted to sell me drugs. I can't remember what I was high on, but it was something that made me say yes when a complete stranger said he'd give me lots of money if I sucked his dick.” Billy was surprised at how embarrassed he got at this particular part of his story. Why the blowjob?  
“How did that go?”  
“It was fucking disgusting. Still counts as one of the worst sexual experiences of my life.” He shivered in disgust at the memory. “I ended up puking my guts out when it was over. I'm glad I managed to keep it in long enough to not puke on the guy's dick.”  
“Shit.” Steve looked disgusted too, and then looked at his glass. They'd both mostly drained them. “Is it okay if I go get us a couple more beers?”  
“That sounds awesome. I'll wait here.” Billy smiled, glad for the break.   
“Cool. Be right back.”

Steve came back with beers and a couple of shots of something green. They did the shots before Billy went back to talking. It tasted as green as it looked. He swallowed it down with beer.   
“That blowjob was when I first started thinking selling my services like that made me a prostitute. I'd met some prostitutes in Crapville, and they actually gave me tips and useful information. Like the extreme importance of condoms. I was really fucking disgusted with myself, but not disgusted enough to not do it again when money ran low. I found other gay bars and clubs to look for people willing to pay me for sexual favors. One evening I saw this guy who looked rich as hell, and I went up to him and told him he could take my virginity if he paid me enough money. He took me up on my offer. Everything was fucking done after that. Billy Hargrove was a fucking whore.”  
“Your virginity?” Steve lifted his eyebrow.   
“The anal kind. I hadn't actually done that particular thing before, so I was honest in my offer. Admittedly I've sold that particular situation several times after. I've lost my virginity a lot of times.” He grinned mischievously. “Some people are easy to fool.”  
“So you ended up in prostitution sort of by accident?”  
“It was probably inevitable I'd end up doing it at some point or another, given how I was living my life. When drugs started becoming habitual I stopped looking for normal work. Selling myself was easier. I could set my own hours, and had time to get wasted between shifts. Selling myself was also easier and more profitable than doing a lot of the other crimes popular in Crapville, and selling drugs was definitely off the table. I wasn't stupid enough to get _that_ deep with these assholes. Those guys are fucking scary if you owe them shit.”   
“Shifts, huh?” Steve smiled a little. It actually made Billy feel good to see he wasn't too shocked and horrified to find something to be amused by.   
“Don't think it was all rosy, if you can call a life like that rosy. I lost my place to live twice because I was more interested in doing drugs than in paying rent.”  
“You don't do drugs now, do you? I mean, apart from weed.”  
“Naw, I kicked it, and weed doesn't count. Got help from a cop named James. I wasn't really all that deep into the drugs. I mean, I was doing them daily, but I'd stayed clear of the really nasty stuff, like heroin and crack. I probably would have landed there eventually if James hadn't gotten involved, but so far the only needles to ever go into my body were put there by doctors and nurses. Don't get me wrong, getting off the stuff sucked fucking balls, sick as a dog doesn't even half cover it, but after it was done it hasn't been all that hard to not get on it again. It hasn't been easy, but I'd expected it to be worse.” He hadn't had the urge to take anything since he met Steve again. Not just after falling for him, but also after just meeting him again. Maybe he'd been reminded of how things used to be.   
“James sounds like a really cool guy.”  
“He is. He's the kind of guy who shows up on his days off to try to help people he can't help while on duty.” For some people being a cop was more than just a job. James was one of those people.   
“I like those kinds of people. I wish there were more of them.” Steve smiled.  
“I can't say I've actually become a better person after getting to know him, but at least my life is more under control now. He's done the same for a lot of others too.” Billy smiled back, even as he felt the need to not make himself sound like a special case. He wasn't. 

Steve found this conversation fascinating. Maybe more than he should. Billy had been through a lot of shit Steve couldn't even relate to. His own dad was a royal piece of shit, but nothing like Billy's psycho dad, and Steve had always had his mom who'd secretly helped him out. She never overtly helped him out, or took his side, but it was something. Billy didn't say anything for a while, and Steve took the chance to ask about something he was curious about.   
“Do you still pick up people at clubs?”  
“I got caught a few too many times and got barred from most of them.” He looked embarrassed. “I wasn't bright. That's how I ended up on the street.”  
“Not all of them?” Steve really hoped it wasn't all of them. He'd hate to have to go clubbing on his own. Frankly, he probably wouldn't.   
“There's one I'm still allowed into. Seemed smart to have one I didn't fuck things up at. So I could go somewhere to have fun. I was thinking we'd go there tonight. If you want to.”  
“I'm game.” Steve inwardly cheered for his lucky break. “Never been to a gay club before.”   
“You've never been to a gay anything before.” Billy gave him a cheeky grin.   
“Point.” Steve laughed, and then when Billy didn't elaborate he asked about another thing he was curious about. “How'd you end up living with Nico and Jaqueline?”   
“That was sort of accidentally too. Jaqueline was one of the prostitutes who helped me out when I got started. We hit it off and became friends. Nico I met because I heard him call for help when some guys were trying to ruin his night.”  
“Wrath of god.” Steve knew Billy was glossing over just how bad Nico's night could have been.   
Billy grinned. “Turned out Nico lived in Crapville too. When I was evicted from my second apartment he let me crash at his place, as thanks for saving his ass. When Jaqueline had to find a new place to live, the three of us decided to upgrade by sharing a bigger nicer apartment. It's worked out perfectly.”  
“I like your apartment.” It was an honest statement. Steve really did like it.  
“It's a hell of a lot better than any other I've lived in.” He smiled and pointed at Steve. “Yours is better.”  
“Better neighborhood.” Steve shrugged. He wouldn't make a joke about how his apartment probably cost more in rent, because he didn't actually know it did. And it would be kinda rude, even as a joke.   
“I'd say Crapville isn't so bad, but it kinda is. A lot of bad people live there.”  
For a second Steve wanted to tell Billy he could move in with him, but that would be stupid, and maybe a little rude. Maybe in a couple of years, if things were still going well. Maybe. 

They had another round of beers, without the green stuff, and talked about other things. Billy didn't have more personal talk left in him at this point, and it was time for the night to become fun. He wasn't even buzzed, but thought it might be approaching time to go clubbing. Getting drunk wasn't the important part of the evening. He wanted to dance dirty with Steve in front of people.   
“Hey, Steve.”  
“Hm?”  
“How drunk are you?”  
“I'm not.” He paused to give Billy a look of suspicion. “How drunk do you want me to be?”  
“Not too drunk to get it up.” Billy purposefully licked his lips.   
“I'll try to control myself.” Steve smiled in clear amusement.   
“What do you say to visiting your first gay club?” Billy pointed to the door, to indicate he was ready to leave.   
“I say let's go.” Steve chugged the rest of his beer, and Billy found himself getting turned on by it.  
Billy chugged his own beer and they left the bar together. Outside they split apart and walked a respectable distance from each other. They were more aware of it than straight guys would be, and were too aware they needed to avoid physical contact. The club was close enough to walk to, as long as you weren't too drunk, so Billy led the way through the streets. It was relatively early still, but there were already a lot of drunk people roaming around. Billy was hit on twice by passing women. Steve was hit on once. The bad boy look prevailed again. Girls were weak for it. Steve and Billy pretended to be just interested enough to _not_ change directions to go with them. They got to the club without too many interruptions. It was called Forward, and Steve wondered how many puns were hidden in the name. There was no line to get in, and the bouncer just looked at them disinterestedly as they walked by. The volume of the music inside was like a wall when they came through the inner door to the main room of the club. It hadn't looked special from the outside, but inside there was no doubt whatsoever that this was a club that catered to gay men. The dance floor was full of men grinding against each other, and Billy suspected the only females in sight were of Jaqueline's disposition, or just plain men dressed up. He'd learned there was a difference. Billy turned to look at Steve's reaction. The man looked nearly in awe. Billy grinned, took his hand, and dragged him along to the bar. Getting drunk might not be his goal for the night, but getting a buzz on wouldn't hurt. He'd saved up money for this night, to make sure he could get rounds for both of them. There was a limit to how much of a mooch he wanted to be. Billy got them Cosmopolitans, that Steve eyed skeptically. Billy leaned in so he could be heard over the music.   
“Drink up, pretty boy. You get to choose the next round.”  
Steve grinned at him and started in on the drink. He nodded in appreciation when he tasted it. Billy grinned and put an arm around his waist. He felt Steve stiffen, but he relaxed after only a moment. The guy was good at adjusting. It was going to be fun. 

Steve was looking around the club. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. He'd known there would be men showing they were gay, but he hadn't expected it to reach this level. Men were groping and kissing each other openly, and he was fairly sure someone was doing more than just groping in a couple of the dark corners. The dance floor was nearly full; the dancers oblivious to the world as they gave themselves over to the beat thundering through the entire club. Steve wanted to be part of that. He wanted to lose himself in the music. He wondered if he could get Billy to dance with him. It would be so much better if he could dance with Billy the way some of those guys danced with each other. His mind was blown by the fact he could do that in here. He could publicly have a boyfriend, and be a boyfriend. He leaned into Billy and shifted his drink to his other hand so he could put an arm around his shoulders. This was fucking amazing. They finished their drinks and Steve bought Sex on the Beach for them. He grinned when Billy gave him a look, and then quickly leaned in and kissed him. It made his stomach do somersaults. It was exciting, even as part of him expected someone to get angry about it. Billy made the kiss last longer than necessary. No one said anything. When he kiss was over Steve looked around and saw that no one even paid them any mind. This was normal in here. Men kissing in public was fucking normal. God, knowing that felt incredible. He leaned close to Billy's ear.  
“I want to dance.”  
“Awesome. So do I.”  
They looked at each other and finished their drinks in unison. Steve took Billy's hand and led him to the dance floor. 

Dancing was something Billy had never really enjoyed before moving to the city and going clubbing. As a tough teenage boy the only dancing acceptable had been the kind that gave you the chance to kiss the girl after. Billy had danced with a lot of girls, and kissed most of them, but it hadn't been something he'd actually wanted for his own sake. He'd done it to fit in and keep up his image. He'd fucked a lot of girls for the same reason. Now, being pulled into the writhing crowd by Steve, he felt very differently about dancing. As soon as Steve stopped and turned to him Billy wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him closer. Steve put his arms over Billy's shoulders and kissed him. After some awkward fumbling to find each others' movements they slid together into the beat. Billy let the world go. He focused on Steve and the bass thumping through his body. Nothing else was important. There was heat coming off the lights, and the bodies dancing all around them, and he was sweating in moments. Sweat trickled down the sides of Steve's face. Billy wanted to lick it up. They danced together for long enough that Billy started getting tired and thirsty, but neither was good enough reason to want to stop. He was getting hard. Not the urgent horny kind of hard, but the kind of arousal that came from being overwhelmed with good feelings and excitement. He felt intoxicated in a way that had little to do with the alcohol he had consumed. Steve looked like he felt the same. He pulled Steve even closer against him, so their cocks pressed together. Steve was hard too. They didn't stop dancing, but the mood between them changed. Not by much, but just enough that they got caught up in kissing each other. Billy could feel Steve moan into the kiss. His arousal changed, and now the want to get off was starting to make itself known. He wanted to drag Steve into a bathroom to do dirty things to him. He turned around and started slowly grinding his ass against Steve's groin, ignoring the beat. Steve wrapped his arms around his chest and spoke into his ear.   
“What the fuck are you doing?”  
Billy just grinned and kept dancing. Steve didn't say anything more, but started grinding hard; fucking Billy's ass through their clothes. People around them ignored them. They were hidden in a sea of moving bodies. Billy leaned his head back against Steve's shoulder. Steve responded to it by kissing Billy's neck. They danced a while longer, while Steve slid his hands up and down Billy's chest. It suddenly struck him that he was on a date, dancing dirty with his boyfriend. This night was fucking amazing. 

As much as Steve wanted to spend hours dancing with Billy, he was tired, thirsty, and hard as fuck. He was going to fuck Billy in front of people if they didn't leave the floor soon. He leaned his mouth against Billy's ear.   
“I need something to drink, and I need to come. In that order, and then another drink after.”   
“Have you ever had a Smurf in a Blender?”  
“What the fuck is that?”  
“Come on.”  
Billy pulled away from him and started walking away. Steve grabbed him before he could get too far. He needed a moment for certain parts of him to cool off a little before he could walk away from the camouflage of other people moving. Billy pointedly looked at Steve's groin and grinned at him in a satisfied way that made Steve want to both smack him and kiss him. Steve looked at the surrounding people and the general lighting in the club, and came to the conclusion the only people who'd notice his hard-on would have to be looking for it to begin with. He waved at Billy to keep walking and followed him out of the crowd. At the bar the bartender gave Billy an annoyed look when he heard the drink order. Billy leaned over and said something to him it was impossible for Steve to hear. The bartender looked at Steve, smiled in a suspicious way, and made the drinks. What he presented to Steve made him see perfectly well where the name came from. It was blue and gory. It literally looked like there were chunks of smurf insides in it. He tasted it, and it tasted like it was full of smurf insides as well. It was absolutely vile. It was only now Steve realized the bartender had only made the one blended smurf. Steve gave Billy a look that he hoped conveyed pure vengeance. He was going to get him back for this. Billy handed him a glass with pink liquid in it. Steve eyed it suspiciously. Billy showed he had his own glass of pink stuff and leaned in to talk.   
“It's a Woo Woo. You need to get out more.”   
“You drink a lot of weird shit.” Steve shouted at him over the music; purposefully not leaning close enough to lower his voice. “I'm gonna end up puking my guts out if you keep putting this sweet garbage in me.”  
“A Woo Woo is not garbage,” Billy shouted defensively over his drink. “And I wasn't the one who bought Sex on the Beach.”  
“I bought sex in a car once.”   
Billy burst out laughing. When he'd calmed down enough to talk he got them a bottle of beer each. Steve knew drunk was going to happen tonight. Having a bottle of beer in his hand while still working on a drink was proof enough of that. He thought “fuck it” and downed the drink in one go. It tasted like a plastic peach fucked a cranberry while floating in vodka. It wasn't as sweet as he'd expected. He looked at Billy and thought about how hot he was, and how cute it was that big badass macho Billy had defended a pink cocktail, called a Woo Woo. Steve fully intended to bring that up at a later date. 

Billy had one more plan for tonight, and now seemed like a good time to do it. He took Steve's hand and dragged him through the club to the bathrooms. There were a lot of people in there. Steve looked at him in confusion. Billy just grinned at him and pulled him to the end of the long row of stalls. Someone was rhythmically moaning in the last stall. Billy grinned. Friday night. In spite of the number of people there were two free stalls. Billy yanked Steve into it and had him sit on the toilet before closing and locking the door behind him. The music was considerably lower in here, and even more so in the stall. Steve looked at him, with obvious lust, but said nothing. Billy leaned down and kissed him quickly, but gently.  
“Just want to give you the full gay club experience.”   
Steve smiled. Billy got down on his knees in front of him and undid his pants. Steve sat passive and let him do the work. Billy found he liked it. He got Steve's dick out of his pants. The pants were tight, but Billy had plenty of practice. Steve's dick was rock hard, and moments after hitting the air a bead of moisture formed at the tip. Billy licked it off, before sucking on the head. He started sucking rhythmically, but not in time with the fast beats of the music they could still hear. The fucking two stalls down increased in speed, then stopped with a loud moan from one of the participants. Billy would have chuckled, had he not have had a dick in his mouth. Instead it came out as a hum. Steve moaned when he felt it. Billy looked up at him, without letting go of the dick. Steve was looking at him; his eyes glossy and unclear, but also focused on him. Billy hummed again, just to get the response. There was something dirty about kneeling on a bathroom floor, sucking dick while there were people outside the door who knew what was happening. He was loving it. He was loving it because he was being dirty with Steve, and because Steve was loving it too. He sucked harder and faster, trying to match the beat from outside now. It was difficult, but he persisted. Steve grabbed Billy's hair and pushed his head down. That made it even better. Billy liked being pushed around by Steve when it came to sex. He better just accept that, and run with it. He sucked in all of Steve's dick and swallowed around it, over and over. Steve started fucking his face, roughly. Billy stopped moving on his own and instead let himself be used by Steve. He let go of Steve long enough to get his own dick out of his pants. He touched himself while his mouth was being fucked; out of his control. He moaned deep in his throat. He was helpless to stop himself. It was purely a reaction to how good he was feeling. Steve fucked him even harder, and then pushed all the way in and held there. Liquid flooded Billy's throat. He swallowed compulsively. It was so far back he couldn't even taste it. He was so turned on the hand on his own dick was getting wet. 

When the dick in his mouth started to soften he let go of it and got up. He pulled the other man up with him. He leaned against the door to the stall and put Steve's hand on his dick.   
“Jerk me off. Fast. Make me come.”  
Steve didn't waste time fussing. He took firm hold of Billy's dick and started jerking hard and fast. He crowded Billy against the door and kissed him roughly. Billy lost himself in it. He took hold of Steve's face and kissed him and kissed him, as heat pooled in his gut and tension shot down his spine. He wanted, _needed_. He was moments from coming when Steve pulled away from the kiss and leaned back to get toilet paper with the hand not busy with Billy's dick. Even in his haze Billy grinned. Preparation. Steve came back to the kiss. He sucked hard on Billy's tongue and lips. When he bit his bottom lip Billy came. He shuddered as he pumped his load into the paper Steve held in place to stop it hitting their clothes. They didn't stop kissing until Billy came down and his breathing was under control. They looked at each other; sated and happy.   
“You're fucking amazing, Harrington.”  
“So are you, Hargrove.”   
They kissed a moment longer before straightening their clothes. They left the stall together, knowing everyone in the room knew why they'd been in there. They washed their hands and grinned at whoever looked at them. Clubbing was fucking awesome. 

When they got back to the bar Steve bought them more beers, and shots the bartender called Baby Woo Woos. They downed the shots and brought the beers to a spot overlooking the dancing people. They moved to the beat together, not quite dancing. Steve knew he wanted to go out there again tonight. Maybe several times. Dancing with Billy was so much fun. The man was hot when he moved on any day, but when he gave himself over to music he was pure sex. Steve could get addicted to it. Billy looked at him, grinned, and put a hand on his ass. Steve leaned against him. Another thing he could get addicted to was being boyfriends around other people. This was definitely not the last time they'd have a date here. As far as Steve was concerned they could come here every week. He kissed Billy again, and was kissed back in a comfortable way that made his heart thump in his chest. This was, by far, the best date he'd ever had.


	13. Chapter 13

Tonight was a really special night for Billy, and he was jittery as hell. He was taking Steve out for dinner. Like, a proper dinner at a proper place, with Billy picking up the tab. Well, his _plan_ was to pick up the tab. He hadn't actually run that part by Steve yet. Steve just knew Billy had found a nice place for them to have a dinner date. Billy had been saving money for a long time to be able to take him out on a date. He'd been a lot more sensible with his money since Christmas. He didn't spend it on bullshit anymore, so he could take more days off than he used to, to go on dates with Steve. He still wasn't sensible enough to work more to save money for things other than dating. Maybe some day, if Steve was a good influence. They'd had some dates already. They'd gone to the club, sensibly getting drunk before going there to save money on the drinks. They'd been to the Bar Javel. They'd been to the movies, and made out in the dark at the movies. They'd even gone to a couple of college basketball matches. Fuck, this boyfriend thing was amazing. Billy had never had this much fun with anyone over such a long period of time, and it only got more fun as they went along. Steve was also always down to doing dirty things, and that was a massive bonus as far as Billy was concerned. Right now it felt like he was catching up on all the sex he hadn't felt like having the last few years. He pretty much always wanted Steve, and it seemed Steve always wanted him back. The only weird thing about all their sexual entertainment was that they had yet to fuck in a bed. They'd fucked just about everywhere else, couch, table, car, floor, public bathrooms, Steve's shower, but still hadn't done it in either of their beds. At this point it had become this special thing for them that neither felt confident pushing for. Like they were fucking virgins waiting for marriage. It was stupid, but it was what it was, and it wasn't like they were starved of orgasms. Hell, Billy had even started jerking off again; thinking about Steve every time. 

Getting dressed for the evening had given him trouble. They were going to a nice restaurant, so he had to dress less indecently than was normal for him, or less like a badass punk, which was his other normal. Luckily he had attempted being a stylish whore for a while, hoping to get into the luxury market. It hadn't panned out, but it had left him with some nice suits, that hugged all the right places. In the end Jaqueline helped him choose one that wasn't too fancy. He wanted to look nice, but he didn't want to look like he was going to a wedding. While getting dressed he wondered if Steve spent as much time as him getting ready. He hoped so. He liked to think Steve found him important enough to dress up for. He sure as hell hadn't dressed sloppily the other dates they'd had. The man was sexy as fuck. Steve probably spent a lot of time on his hair. Billy loved playing with that hair, and tugging it. Steve didn't seem to really mind, even though he protested loudly when Billy messed it up too much. Unless said messing was done while they were doing improper things to each other. Billy checked the time, gave himself a once over in Jaqueline's full body mirror, and, happy with what he saw, went to catch the bus. Taxis were a rarity in Crapville, and Billy didn't have a phone to call one. It was easier to just catch the bus. He might have gone to nag a neighbor with a phone had the weather been worse. As it was it was a nice evening, so it wasn't worth the hassle, or the favor owed. Billy was reconsidering not having a phone. Calling Steve just to talk shit at night would be nice. Phone sex would be nice too, and Billy just knew Steve would be up for it. 

At the restaurant Steve was early and wasn't sure if he should go in or wait outside. He wandered around nearby, trying to decide. He kept an eye on the restaurant while walking, in case Billy showed up early too. If he'd brought the car the wait would be easy, but he'd wanted the option to drink tonight. He didn't know what Billy had planned, apart from where they were eating. It was a really nice place. The kind you needed reservations for. He didn't know if it was gay friendly, but it wasn't unusual for friends or even business associates to go to dinners together. Steve had worn one of his nicer suits, so he could pass for being out on business. He hadn't quite gone to wedding level, but the suit was relatively up scale. He'd got it for those times he really needed to impress someone he wanted to sell expensive things to. So far he'd had occasion to use it twice before tonight. Tonight was going to be the best use of it yet. He hoped Billy was going to be the one to take it off him at the end of the night. Thinking about that made him distracted enough that he almost missed Billy walking towards the restaurant. He looked fucking spectacular. His suit looked more expensive than Steve's, and it fit him like it had been made for him. Steve wanted to drag him somewhere private to take it off him. Steve started walking towards him and waved. Billy saw him quickly and joined him.   
“Hey there, Hargrove. Looking good.” Steve was obvious in looking Billy over.  
“So do you, Harrington.” Billy did the same to Steve. “You ready to go in?”  
“I'm ready to have a smoke with you first.”  
Billy checked the time before answering. “Sounds good to me.”   
They lit up and had a short walk around while smoking companionably. Right before the time for the reservation they went through the door to the restaurant. 

The place was fancy, with maitre'd and all, without being at the point where it only catered to the rich and famous. Billy had done research, and had come to the conclusion that unless they ordered all the most expensive stuff he should be able to pick up the bill after. Steve would protest. Billy would override him. He wasn't going to tell Steve he was paying, or the idiot would probably just choose the cheapest of everything, and skip dessert. The guy was far too considerate for his own good. Had teenage Steve been this considerate? It seemed unlikely, considering he'd been the town's main punk before he met Nancy Wheeler. Billy wondered if she had changed him, or if it had been something else. They were quickly seated, at a surprisingly good table, and given menus. Billy had a need to comment on everything, but kept it to himself. They sensibly discussed the various dishes, and listened to the recommendations from the waiter when he came over and offered. They managed to decide on what to eat in a reasonable amount of time, and the waiter floated off. He came back after a moment, with a wine list and recommendations for that too. Billy offered to let Steve decide what wine to get, but Steve demanded it be a joint decision. Deciding on wine ended up being more difficult than deciding on food, which was weird, considering neither was particularly into wine in general. Eventually they chose something to go with the food, that the waiter recommended, and they were left to their own devices for a while. So far they hadn't ordered anything that made Billy worried about his money situation. His wallet wasn't going to be happy by the end of the night, but it also wasn't going to be empty. He might even have enough left over for some drinks at Forward, should Steve want to go there after dinner. 

While waiting for the food they talked about normal things. Like work. As normal as it got when one was a prostitute and trying to find the right words for talking about work without giving it away. They had fun trying to find ways to word it so it sounded like a completely different job. There were a lot of failed attempts and stifled laughter. Steve wondered if it was obvious to the casual observer just how into Billy he was. He was trying to be neutral about it, but when the guy was giggling over various uses of the words “salty” and “spunky” it was really difficult to keep his feelings in check. The only thing he could reasonably do was to not touch. Even that was hard. He wanted to reach across the table and take Billy's hand, just because it was within reach. They discussed the wine when that was served, but it was only a show for the waiter. It was good, but as far as Steve was concerned it fell under the category “tasty wine”, and that was as detailed as it got. When the food arrived they both focused on it for a bit, and it was absolutely delicious, but it couldn't keep Steve's attention for long when Billy was this close to him. Billy looked like he was enjoying the food too. They talked food for a while. They both wanted to share their food, but resisted the urge. It would look far too much like a lovey couple out on a dinner date. Technically, that was what they were, at least Steve felt lovey, but it wouldn't be a good idea to let other people catch on to that fact. Billy seemed to think the same thing, because he changed the topic.   
“So, Steve.”  
“Hm?” A mouthful of food kept Steve from being more articulate.   
“I've seen some books at your place I've been curious about.” He took a bite of food, like it wasn't an important question.  
“Of course you have.” Steve should have known this conversation would happen sometime. “Snoop.”   
“Don't give me that shit, they're in your living room, on the same shelf you keep your Gaiman.”  
“What do you want to know about them?” Steve gave in, and pretended to be exasperated.   
“What do you want to be?”  
“I don't follow.” Steve thought maybe he followed, but he wanted clarification nonetheless.   
“The only reason to have those kinds of books is because you want something other than what you have. You want to do something more than you do.” He pointed with his fork. “So what is it?”   
Steve considered deflecting, or refusing to answer, but it was Billy asking. Thinking about it he didn't actually mind talking about it with Billy now. Didn't feel a need to keep it secret.   
“I wanted to be a teacher.”   
Billy put his fork down in surprise. He didn't say anything.   
“What? Is it _that_ shocking?” Steve wondered if he should get indignant at the reaction.   
“That Hawkins' biggest punk, before I showed up, wants to be a teacher?” He smiled. “A little.”   
“I haven't been that punk in a long time.”  
“It's because of the brats, isn't it?” The question suggested is wasn't really a question.   
“Maybe. I guess ending up everyone's favorite babysitter showed me it could be fun to not be a punk. I liked taking care of them, helping them, and teaching them shit, and being someone they could look up to. Felt like it meant something. And I thought maybe being a teacher could be something like that.”  
“So why aren't you one?”  
“Because I'm stupid.” He said it matter of factly and ate some more. He'd more or less resigned himself to not being bright enough to be what he wanted.   
“You are not fucking stupid.” Billy sounded on the verge of getting angry.   
“You didn't see my grades.” Steve raised an eyebrow to him.   
“Smart is more than grades.”  
“Yeah, but grades are the things you need to get an education. Mine just weren't all that good.” He shrugged, pretending it didn't suck.   
“Maybe they'll be better now.”  
“You think so?” He wanted to believe it, but couldn't quite bring himself to.   
“A few years of maturing can work wonders on grades. You look at life differently, and that can help you understand things in a way you couldn't when you were a teen.”  
“And that'll help you with math?” Steve put on his best skeptical face.   
“You might be surprised.” Billy ate another bite before continuing. His plate was almost empty. “I knew a guy who said that when he was a teenager he _remembered_ how to solve math problems, but when he took it again as an adult he _understood_ how to solve them. There's a difference there, and he claimed age was what changed it for him.”  
“So what did he do for a living when you met him?” A small bit of hope crept into Steve's stomach. Either that or the food was doing stuff to it.   
“Made drugs.” Billy shrugged while grinning. “Doesn't mean he wasn't a smart guy. He sort of became a pharmacist. He started school to be one kind of pharmacist, ended up too fond of certain items pharmacists make, and then became a different kind of pharmacist. The kind that don't need a license, and that the police aren't fans of.”  
Steve laughed. 

They finished eating and unanimously agreed to have dessert. Billy got the most chocolatey thing they had on the menu. Steve went with cheesecake, which tickled Billy immensely. In the middle of ordering Steve looked like he remembered something. When the waiter left Steve was grinning at Billy.   
“I won the bet. I keep forgetting to tell you.”  
“Didn't doubt it for a minute. I'm just sad I didn't get to taste it.” Billy didn't bring up that he'd sort of freaked out and left prematurely.   
“We can make it again. It was fucking delicious.”  
“If you keep forgetting to tell me we'll keep forgetting to make it.” Billy winked at him.   
“You can remind us. Anyway, they were smug as hell about their own cakes until we tasted them. Miller's wasn't even good.” He stuck out his tongue in disgust. Billy found it painfully adorable.   
“That's the guy you hate, right?” Billy hoped he was right. He wanted to remember shit about Steve's life, because that was what boyfriends did, and because Billy was actually interested in Steve's life.   
“He's the guy everyone hates. Brown nosing prick.” Steve wrinkled his nose.   
“That's like a gay man's prick.”  
Steve laughed again. Billy fucking loved being able to make him laugh.   
“It's a testament to how good the cake was that even he admitted he'd been beat.”  
“Did you bring the one I made or the one you made?” Billy made a show of looking at him accusingly.   
“I actually don't know. When morning came I'd forgotten which was which.” He smiled sheepishly.   
It was Billy's turn to laugh. Steve shrugged and went on.   
“Having tried both of them I'd say either would have won. With your guidance I managed to make a damn good cheesecake.” He beamed proudly.  
“You're welcome.”   
Steve smiled at him in a way that made Billy's stomach tighten. 

Steve suddenly went serious, and Billy wondered if he'd done something wrong. He didn't have to wait long to find out the reason.   
“I've been thinking about something.”  
“Yeah?” Billy tried to not let his concern show.   
“I'm going back to Hawkins for spring break. I'll spend the whole week there, because it's the last spring break the kids have before scattering off to college and whatever.”  
“They're _that_ old now?” Billy raised both eyebrows in surprise.   
“Yes, they are.” He smiled, and Billy saw how important they were to him in it.   
Dessert arrived, and they were distracted from the conversation for a while. Billy's chocolate encased chocolate mousse cake, with hot chocolate sauce poured over, was so good he almost got hard. He looked over and saw Steve was clearly enjoying his cheesecake to a similar degree. He was several bites into it before he looked at Billy again.  
“Anyway, like I was saying, I'm going back there for a week.”  
“Yeah?” Billy was hesitant, because he had no idea where Steve was going with this conversation.   
“Want to come with me?”  
“What?” The question came out of left field, so Billy needed some moments to process it. “What?”  
“Come with me to Hawkins. I've saved money, so I can cover your rent for the week you're not working. I mean, this is sort of short notice.” He bit his bottom lip in a nervous way. “I know I should have said something sooner, but I've kinda thought it would be weird to ask you to go on a trip with me so soon.”  
“But you're asking anyway now.”  
“Yeah well, I remembered you're a grownup, and that I don't need to make your choices for you. Worst thing that can happen is you say no.” He gave Billy a cheeky look that said he didn't really believe the next thing he was about to say. “At least I hope that's the worst thing.”  
“I can think of a few things.” Billy wanted to stick out his tongue at him, but that would look so bad if someone looked over at their table and saw it. He didn't know what to say to the request. Going on a trip with Steve was a huge thing, and going with him back to Hawkins, to probably meet the brats, was massive.   
“Look, just think about it, okay? It's not spring break yet.”  
“Sure, I'll think about it.” Billy was definitely going to think about it, and probably consult Jaqueline and Nico to hear their opinions on it. And then think about it some more.  
“Cool.” Steve's smile was radiant. Billy wanted to say yes then and there just to make him smile like that more. 

They didn't talk about it more during dinner. Steve was okay with that. He'd asked. Working to convince the man could wait until he'd given it some thought. He hadn't said no as a reflex, which was encouraging. Steve had been thinking a lot about his trip, and had come to the conclusion it was the right time to tell everyone about Billy. The thing that would make telling them about him better, was to show him to them. Their surprise and alarm would decrease dramatically if they got to see what Billy was like now, and more importantly got to see them together. He was sure they knew him well enough to be able to see the difference in him when he was with Billy. Being around Billy made him fucking happy, as annoyingly soppy as that sounded. It also made him horny; something he hoped they wouldn't see too easily. Speaking of horny, seeing Billy dig into the chocolate monstrosity he'd ordered made Steve very much so. He wanted to cover his own cock in chocolate and watch Billy suck it off. These were bad thoughts to have in a crowded upscale restaurant. Going off to the bathroom to do dirty things wasn't an option in a place like this. They'd get arrested for sure.   
“When we're done here, want to come back to my place?” Steve kept his voice low, to reduce the chance of someone overhearing.   
“I thought maybe we'd go drinking.”  
“I have a better idea,” Steve said calmly, trying to convey lewd suggestions without letting on that that was what his goal was.   
“Then it's probably in my best interest to go along with your suggestion.” Billy looked at Steve with no expression, but still managed to say everything Steve wanted to know about dirty thoughts and ideas.   
Steve had something he wanted to do. He wasn't going to tell Billy what it was until they'd arrived at his apartment. Not that he thought for a moment Billy would back out if he knew. It was more a surprise thing. They asked for the check. When it came Billy took out money and looked right at Steve and told him it was his treat. Steve recognized the pride under his words, and didn't protest. He thanked him politely, and resolved to thank him not quite as politely later. They left a healthy tip, before going out in search of a taxi. They didn't ask the restaurant to call them one, because they both agreed it would be nice to have a walk and an outdoor cigarette before going back to Steve's place. 

When they got to the apartment Billy noticed Steve seemed a little nervous. It was weird. They plonked down on his couch with a beer each, and wasted no time getting the suit jackets off. Billy opened a few extra buttons on his shirt. It felt more right that way.   
“So, what's your big plan for tonight?” He looked at Steve suggestively, and hoped his plans involved them getting naked together somewhere.   
“Well, sex.”  
“I'm shocked.” Billy said with no emotion in his words.   
“In my bed.” Steve smiled suggestively and happily at the same time.   
“Okay, now I'm _actually_ surprised.” Billy stopped joking. “You sure?”  
“Abso-fucking-lutely.” Steve leaned closer to him so he could speak in a low husky voice. “I want you in my bed, naked and sweaty.”  
“Naked I can get. Sweaty I'll need a little hand with.” Billy tried to play it tough and controlled, but he heard his own voice hitch at the end of the sentence.  
“I am more than happy to help you get sweaty, and sticky.” He still spoke low, and it was fucking hot.   
Billy was already hard in anticipation. Steve got up and straddled Billy's lap. He was hard too. He took Billy's beer from him and put both bottles on the table. He leaned in and kissed Billy gently. Billy gave in to Steve's wants, and let him control everything. He knew he'd get what he wanted too. Steve would make sure of it. 

The kiss didn't stay gentle for long. Soon they their hands found buttons and fabric, and they were undressing each other. Steve knew they'd have to get this show moved to the bedroom soon, or they'd just do it on the couch again. After the lovely dinner today, that Billy was a gentleman and paid for, it was important to him they move it there. He'd gotten things ready in there before going out, because it had been his plan all along to get this step done tonight, but now it was even more important. Now it was even more special. He wanted to fucking make love to Billy, and he wanted to do it right.   
“Come on, hot stuff, let's go find a bed.”  
“Just any bed?”  
“My bed, you idiot,” Steve said with affection. “I can call it _our_ bed, if you want, because tonight it's going to be all ours, all night.”  
Billy grinned at him, and then just plain picked him up and stood up. Steve let out a squeak of surprise.   
“What the fuck?”  
“Don't squirm. I'll drop you.” There was no sign in his voice he was struggling to hold Steve's weight.   
Steve held still. It was surprisingly hot to be carried like this, and just as surprisingly his pride was perfectly okay with it. Billy stopped in front of the bedroom door, so Steve could reach out and open it. He carried Steve in and gently deposited him on the bed. Steve looked up at him, in his rumpled open shirt and half open suit pants. He looked deliciously disheveled. Steve knew he looked just as disheveled. Judging by the look in the other man's eyes he found Steve equally delicious. That was an arousing thing to see, and feel. Billy climbed onto the bed and straddled Steve's hips. They spent uncounted minutes kissing and grinding against each other. Steve knew he was getting distracted again, but wanted to enjoy it just a little bit longer. When he felt himself getting too into it he pushed Billy back. He smiled at him, to make sure he didn't think Steve wasn't enjoying this.   
“I want to do something different tonight. Can we do that?”  
“What do you have in mind?” He smiled back at Steve, with no sign of cheek anywhere.   
“I can show you, if you get off me.” It was more of a request than a command.   
“All right.”  
Billy moved to the side to Steve could sit up.   
“Is it all right if we take our clothes off without getting all naughty about it?”  
“That would be a change,” Billy said, and then started calmly undressing.   
Steve followed suit, and soon they were both naked, and both intensely hard. 

Billy looked at Steve. Taking the time to stop and look at Steve's naked body wasn't something Billy had really done before. The man was beautiful. Every part of his body turned Billy on. What turned him on more was not knowing what the other man had in mind for the evening. He knew it was going to be different. It already was different, and he trusted Steve to make it something to remember. Hell, everything with Steve was something to remember. Billy was well and truly, and intensely, in love with the man. He hadn't told him yet, but he thought he probably knew anyway. He _would_ tell him, just not now. Now he would do whatever Steve wanted.   
“What do you want me to do, pretty boy?”  
Steve crawled over to him on the bed and gently pushed him down on his back. He lay down next to Billy and kissed him. Billy turned onto his side so he could face Steve. They kissed, and touched, and didn't hurry. It struck Billy that this wasn't fucking. This was enjoying each other's bodies, and presence. This was taking their time and exploring. This was making love. It was making love, and it felt right. He was glad they'd waited, because now was the time to do it, and it was already incredible. Steve pushed Billy onto his back again, and moved down his body; kissing where he could reach. His neck, his collarbone, down to his chest and pierced nipples. Billy felt his coherency slip, and he made nonsensical noises of encouragement instead. When Steve got to Billy's navel he kissed it twice and then got up and went to the side of the bed.   
“What the fuck?” Billy half sat up and looked at Steve.   
“I'm getting something, asshole. You just stay still.” He picked up something from the bedside table that Billy couldn't see.   
“You should have got it to begin with.” Billy was maybe slightly embarrassed about the amount of sulking he heard in his own voice. He toughened it up. “You can't leave a man hanging like this.”  
“I was distracted. It's your fault.” Steve went back to where he'd been on Billy's body, navel kiss and all.   
Billy lay back down, again content to let Steve do what he wanted. Whatever he'd gotten from the bedside table, it was going to be good. 

This was Steve's first time really tasting Billy's skin. When they'd messed around before, and fucked without money being involved, their mouths had mostly been occupied with each other, with their hands doing most of the exploring. Whenever he sucked Billy's cock there was a condom involved. He wasn't going to suck his cock now, but he could taste the rest of him. Billy's skin smelled warm, like he'd been in the sun all day. There was a slight hint of salt when Steve licked it. Billy was hot to the touch now, and he kept shifting his position; seemingly unable to lie still when Steve touched and tasted him. Steve moved further down and kissed the inside of Billy's thigh, before sucking hard enough in a spot to leave a welt behind. Billy moaned in response, and squirmed more. Steve left several welts in his wake as he moved down to Billy's knee. When there he sat up and lifted the leg with him, exposing part of Billy's ass. Steve looked down at the naked dazed-looking man on his bed. Billy looked absolutely stunning. He was flushed, with a light sheen of sweat covering his skin. Steve could see where he had kissed and licked on his way down. There was a part of Billy Steve had yet to explore. He'd either ignored it or put his cock in it. Today he wanted to see just how Billy reacted to being played with. He lifted both of Billy's legs and sat comfortably between them. He now had full view and access to everything he wanted. He ran both hands firmly up the inside of Billy's thighs until he reached the joints. He slid his thumbs down to the crack and spread it apart. Billy pulled in a breath and looked expectantly at Steve, who smiled at him and opened the bottle of lube he'd put next to him on the bed. 

When Steve slid a slick finger between his legs Billy knew what was coming, and he was looking forward to it. Steve was going to explore, and he was going to find Billy's weakness, and Billy would be completely okay with it, because he trusted Steve and wanted him to know. Steve spread lube all over the area, making everything slick. He also spread it over Billy's dick and balls. It felt so good Billy was already having trouble keeping his moans in check. He didn't want to let them out fully quite yet. He wanted Steve to work for them. And work for them he certainly did. He used both hands to knead and pull at Billy's flesh. He didn't do it hard, but it was close. He'd already cottoned on to Billy liking it rough, and had so far been all into it with him. Tonight might end up being different, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Steve caught Billy's eyes and smiled like he was the luckiest guy I the world. Billy felt his insides melt at the sight of it. Then he felt his insides do something else entirely, because Steve chose that time to push a finger into him. Billy gasped in surprise, and got a wicked grin from Steve in response. Making love or not, Steve was fucking Steve, and Billy fucking loved it. He tried to grin back, but the finger now moving in and out of him made it hard to concentrate. Steve was so damn close to touching his prostate Billy's stomach tightened in anticipation. When he finally hit it Billy immediately lost his fight against moaning. They just fell out of him, and his whole body twitched. He distantly heard Steve make a sound of surprise, moments before his prostate was pushed again. Billy moaned helplessly. Fuck, it felt so good to give in to it. To not feel like it was wrong or annoying. This was exactly the right time, in exactly the right place, with exactly the right person. He gathered all his awareness so he could speak.  
“Fuck, Steve, do that more. Make me come from it.”   
“You are so fucking gorgeous,” Steve replied, with awe coloring his words.   
At that moment Billy _felt_ gorgeous. He felt better than he could ever remember feeling in his life, and it wasn't just because of the physical pleasure. It was because of who he was with, and the calm trust he felt toward him. 

The moans that came out of Billy made Steve so turned on he didn't know what to do about it. He wanted to take Billy right then and there; to have him and claim him. But Billy wanted Steve to make him come, like this, with his hands, so he'd do that. He put two fingers in, and rubbed them gently over the magic spot inside Billy. If only he'd known about that spot sooner. Then again, maybe Billy hadn't wanted him to. Now he definitely wanted him to, and Steve was going to find out just how weak the man was to it. Already it was clear he was intensely weak to it. Steve kept rubbing his fingers over the spot every time he moved his fingers in and out, increasing the pressure little by little. Billy quickly turned into a writhing moaning mess. The more pressure Steve applied the more breathless Billy's sounds were. Steve had never seen him exhibit this little control over himself. It was fucking amazing to watch. Billy braced his feet on the bed and lifted his hips. Steve sat up on his knees, without stopping the movement of his hand, and leaned over Billy so he could kiss his stomach. The salty taste of sweat was more pronounced now. Droplets were trickling down Billy's body, and his hair was sticking to his face. Steve moved so he could reach better. He stopped moving his fingers in and out, and instead held them pushed in, rubbing relentlessly at Billy's prostate. He took hold of the base of Billy's cock with his free hand, and put pressure on his pelvis with his arm. Not jerking, just holding. He leaned up as far as he could and reached one of Billy's nipples with his mouth. He sucked on it, then bit the nipple ring and tugged not quite gently. Billy stopped breathing for a moment, and then came with damn near brutal force. His moan was so loud it was a shout. He shuddered and lost purchase with his legs. Steve looked down at this wonder of a man and didn't let up. He pushed more shudders and twitches out of him, more sounds and gasps. Billy's sounds turned to something near whimpers, and occasional convulses burst through him. Steve could tell he was overstimulating him, but kept at it a moment longer, before pulling his fingers out. He sat up and watched the other man collapse. Billy panted roughly and quivered all over. He seemed to not even be aware Steve was still there. His entire body was wet with sweat, and semen was splattered over his stomach and chest. He was beyond stunning. Steve felt like he could watch him like this forever, and never grow tired of the beauty of it. Of him. 

Billy was fucking gone. He'd never come like this in his life. Saying the orgasm had been mind blowing didn't even begin to cover it. He'd always thought “whiting out” and “seeing stars” were bullshit myths, but damn if it didn't feel like both of those had happened at the same time. It was like his mind and body had fucking exploded together into oblivion. Then Steve had kept going, and Billy's mind had slipped further into ranges not even mind altering drugs could reach. He barely even knew where he was. When Steve finally let up Billy practically flatlined. It took a long time before he got his breathing back under control, and his heart was off doing its own thing. The sweat was cooling on his skin before he felt aware enough to look at Steve.   
“Hi there, pretty boy.” His eyes still had some trouble focusing.  
“Hey, hot stuff.” Steve smiled. “Feeling good?”  
“Fucking spectacular.” Billy lifted his head to get a better look, and saw Steve was still sporting a raging hardon. Billy felt a twinge of embarrassment that he'd been so lost that reciprocating hadn't even crossed his mind. “Need some help with that?” He nodded towards Steve's dick.   
“I wouldn't mind.” Steve touched himself slowly, while looking Billy over. “And I know exactly the part of your body I want to help with it.”  
“Have at it, pretty boy. I'm all yours.” Billy knew exactly which part Steve was talking about.   
“Have at it?” Steve lifted an eyebrow.   
“Fucking take me, you gorgeous man. I want you in me,” Billy said calmly, and spread his legs to show he meant it. And he did mean it.   
“Oh god.”  
“Better?” Billy grinned at him and licked his bottom lip.   
“Fuck,” Steve said breathlessly.   
“Kiss me, asshole, then you can do whatever you want to me, and I'll fucking love it.”   
Steve did as he was told. He leaned down and kissed Billy in a way that could only be called passionately. It escalated while they were in the middle of it; their tongues sliding against each other, their lips going from touching to sucking. It was messy, and awesome. 

They didn't kiss for long before Steve moved back so he could put on a condom. He was too fucking hard to just kiss. For a while he had been so into Billy he'd forgotten about his own state of arousal, but his cock hadn't forgotten, and it now demanded all the attention. It was starting to actually fucking hurt. He got a condom out of the box he'd put next to the lube, and put it on, then quickly got the bottle of lube. The viscous gel felt cold on his overheated erection. It did nothing to lower his arousal. There was already a considerable amount of it coating the skin of Billy's ass, and some was leaking slowly out of his hole. Steve needed his cock in that hole, like, yesterday. But he didn't want to just fuck Billy. He wanted it to be more. He just didn't know how to go about it. Billy took care of it for him. He wrapped his legs around Steve's waist.   
“Let me have you, Steve. Please.”  
That last word his Steve everywhere he could be hit. He positioned himself and slowly pushed into Billy's body. It felt so good. Hot, slick, and welcoming. Billy reached up so he could pull him down into a kiss. Steve let himself be pulled. The kiss was unhurried, as was the pace he set with his hips. It let them enjoy not just their bodies, but also each other. He knew need would speed him up before long, but right now he could take his time and _be_ with Billy. This was different from what they'd done before, and they wouldn't be doing it like this every time, but this was personal and significant, and fucking incredible. Billy seemed to feel the same way, because he had arms and legs around Steve, and was pulling him close; like he both wanted and needed him. It was wonderful to feel wanted and needed, and it was how he felt towards Billy. He tried to put those feelings into the kiss and his movements. 

This was something Billy had never experienced before. This comfortable slow burn with feelings fused into all of it. He'd already come, like a fucking train, so that wasn't important right now. What was important was Steve, and only Steve. This idiot man who had elbowed his way into his life and made everything better. Billy was used to just being used. A convenient hole for anyone with money. This was absolutely nothing like that. This wasn't using, it was sharing. Sharing in a way that was foreign to him, but no less amazing for that. He felt Steve's dick move in and out of him, a little faster now than a moment ago. There was friction building up, and his prostate was hit time and again. He let himself feel the pleasure uninhibitedly with Steve, in a way he hadn't done with anyone before, and it was already driving his arousal up to new levels. He was getting hard and ready to come again. Steve increased the speed more. Before long they were both panting into the kiss they still hadn't broken. Billy broke it now to say two words.   
“More. Harder.”   
Steve complied. He rose up on his hands high enough to look down at Billy. Keeping their eyes locked he rammed in harder than before. Billy moaned, and Steve did too. The pace increased more. 

Billy took hold of Steve's face with both hands and pulled him down for another kiss. He would never get tired of kissing this man. His lips and tongue were addictive. Hell, all of Steve was addictive. Everything about him. Especially the dick that was now pumping in and out of Billy roughly. A particularly hard thrust that nailed his prostate made Billy's arms and neck go limp. He flopped back and made an embarrassing sound that was half moan, half whine. Steve sat up on his knees and pulled Billy's pelvis against him and half onto his lap. He set a hard rhythm at an angle that made sure Billy's prostate didn't get a break. Billy didn't stand a chance. His dick started leaking come before he was even coming. Not just pre-come, but actual fucking semen leaked out. He tried pushing back against Steve's thrust, but he didn't have the purchase or the strength to do it. He was just along for the ride, and Steve was in a fucking hurry now. Billy looked up at the beautiful sweat soaked man above him. The look on Steve's face was pure concentration. He was going to come any moment. Billy tightened the muscles around his hole as much as he could. Three thrusts later Steve was coming, eyes shut tight, groaning loudly and deep in his throat; his fingers digging into Billy's skin. The pulsing of his dick inside Billy, as it pumped load after load into him, had him coming too. Billy had now come twice without having his dick jerked. It was fucking insane. He hadn't even known it was possible. Steve collapsed onto him, and Billy put his arms around him and held him while they both came down from the high. He held this wonder of a person, feeling his heartbeat and the expansion of his lungs against his chest, and made a decision. It wasn't even a hard decision to make, when he just let himself make it. 

The scent of Billy was all around Steve, as he lay on top of the man with his face against his neck. He didn't want to move. He felt twin heartbeats, and was moved by the rise and fall of Billy's chest as his breathing calmed. This was, by far, the best sexual experience Steve had ever had. He was relatively sure it was the best emotional one too. He felt more connected to Billy than to anyone he'd ever been with. Connected in more ways than just their bodies. But, speaking of connected, he was still inside the other man. He should probably pull out, and probably get off him. He decided against both until Billy told him to.   
“Steve?”  
“Mm?” Steve was expecting to be told to move any second, and snuggled in a little closer in preparation.   
“I'll come with you to Hawkins.”  
Steve popped up from where he was lying instantly. He sat up with hands braced on Billy's chest, and slipped out of him in the process.   
“What?”  
“I said I'll come with you.” Billy smiled.  
“What happened to thinking about it?” Steve hoped he didn't sound displeased or anything. He sure as hell didn't want to give Billy the impression he'd asked to be nice but didn't really want him to come.   
“I have thought about it.” He shrugged.   
“Is that the kind of thing you think about during sex?” Steve raised an eyebrow at him.   
“Before and after. During the sex tonight I couldn't think at all.” He put his hands on Steve's hands and held them there. “Holy fuck, Steve, that was intense,” he said calmly, almost in awe.  
“I know.” Steve burst into a grin. “You're fucking awesome.”  
Billy sighed in a contented way and stretched arms over his head. He left them there. He looked exhausted.   
“Don't get me wrong, I'll probably need that money help you offered.” He looked embarrassed, but smiled. “But if you really want me to come with you, I'll take the time off and go.”  
“I really fucking want you to come with me.” Steve was grinning like an idiot. He was disgustingly happy right now.   
“I guess it's settled then. Sort of. I don't even know when we're going.” Billy grinned.   
“Spring break. I'll fill you in on the details sometime when we're not naked and sticky from sex.” Steve ran a couple of fingers through the mess on Billy's stomach to make the point.   
“Sounds good.”   
Steve slid the condom off his now soft cock before getting all the way up and off the bed. He held out a hand to Billy.   
“Come on, let's shower, and then we can fight about who sleeps in the wet spot.”  
“Or we can change the sheets.” Billy shuffled down to the end of the bed where Steve was standing and took the offered hand.   
“Or that.” Steve pulled him to his feet, then half dragged him to the bathroom; throwing the condom in the trashcan on the way to the shower.   
He turned the water on and waited for it to heat up. Billy pushed him in before it did so, and Steve gasped at the cold. Billy followed in after him and kissed him under the spray. Steve put his arms over Billy's shoulders and kissed him back. As the water heated up around them Steve thought this was quite possibly the best experience he had ever had.


	14. Chapter 14

As was typical in the minds of people everywhere, including Steve, the trip to Hawkins did not go according to plan. They'd been well on their way when the goddamn clutch cable broke, and they were stranded on the roadside. Billy knew how to get the car rolling so they could get to a gas station, but it required someone to help them push, because when the car was rolling it had to stay rolling. There would be no stopping to pick up the person pushing. It had taken three hours before someone had stopped to give them a hand. Three hours of sitting at the side of the road, without doing stuff like make out in the backseat. Three hours of “maybe we should have walked to the nearest phone after all”. Billy was fun to talk to, but Steve's need to make out had gotten stronger and stronger the more time went by. He'd been ready to pull Billy into the bushes when a car had finally stopped. A car with three girls in it. Steve guessed they were twenty-ish. Billy had explained the plan to them, while flirting heavily. They'd push the car until it got to a speed that would let Steve put it in first gear without stalling the engine. Billy would have to stay in the car, and “sorry, ladies, but we'll have to just keep driving until we get to a repair shop, so the thanks have to be premature”. Two of the girls had given him their number. He had not offered an explanation for why he didn't give one back. The girls, to their credit, hadn't skimped on the help. They'd got the car moving and into gear, and Steve and Billy had waved their thanks out the window as they drove off. Steve had sulked about the flirting all the way to the nearest gas station. At the gas station it had taken another couple of hours for Billy to get the car patched up well enough to get to Hawkins, and a repair shop that could change the damn thing while they stayed in town a few days. Billy had said he could have gotten it done faster if the gas station had actual tools and parts he could use. They'd had to do some waiting while the manager made calls. No cable available, but they'd been able to scrounge up enough to get a working patch going. When it was all done Billy had also said he could change the clutch cable himself in Hawkins, if he got the parts. Steve had said he'd rather have Billy's company than the money it would take to fix it. Billy had conceded, with some persuasion from Steve's side, and they'd been off again. 

By the time they got to Hawkins it was dark, the streets were empty, and it was late enough that Steve was hesitant to go knocking at his parents' house. A motel hadn't been on their list of plans, and they were unsure they wanted to spend that money. They pulled into a dark corner of the mall parking lot to figure out what to do. Figuring things out stopped being Steve's plan when Billy scooted closer and pulled him into a steaming hot kiss. He instantly decided figuring shit out was less important than getting Billy into the back seat so they could fool around. It was dark, the mall was closed, and it was far enough away from things that no one would bother coming here after hours. There was no reasonable reason to not pull Billy into the back seat with him. In a feat of acrobatics that he would have said was beyond him he pushed Billy back and climbed into the back seat without exiting the car. Billy grinned at him but didn't follow.   
“You seem a little eager there, Harrington.”  
“Shut up. I've been with you for hours without doing anything, _and_ watched you flirt with girls.” He sat back against the seat and pointed at Billy. “Asshole. I have reached my limit. So help me get off before I do something stupid.”   
“Stupid, like getting off with a guy in the backseat of a car in your home town?” Billy raised an eyebrow, but was grinning.   
“Yes, that kind of stupid.” Steve held out a hand to Billy. “So get over here and do something about it before I get worse. I might decide to pull you out of the car and fuck you over the hood of it.”  
“Now _that_ is an interesting kind of stupid.”  
“God damn it, Billy.”   
Billy grinned wider, but took the offered hand and let himself be pulled by Steve until they were both in the back. He wasted no time getting close enough to Steve that they could kiss. To Steve it was like getting food after a two day fast. Maybe it was stupid to feel like this after less than a day in a car together without kissing, but he didn't care. He didn't even know why they'd done the whole trip without fooling around, especially when stranded for hours, but they had. Now it was time to make up for it. 

The way Steve reacted to a day in the car with him made Billy feel wanted. It was a very good feeling. It made Billy want to reward him, even though rewarding someone for wanting you was a bad concept. He decided it was showing his appreciation instead. He pulled up Steve's shirt, slid his hands under it, and found his nipples. Steve groaned into the kiss. A lot of spots on Billy's body were sensitive, but Steve had those spots too, and his nipples were among them. He got Steve to move until they were mostly flat in the back seat, as flat as was possible when their legs were too long, with Billy half kneeling on the seat and Steve's legs around his waist. Billy pushed Steve's shirt up until he could see his nipples, and leaned down for a taste. While Billy sucked on one of them Steve reached down and started undoing both their pants, starting with Billy's. When their now rock hard dicks were free from their clothes Steve took hold of both of them and started jerking them only slightly faster than slow. Billy moved up to kiss Steve, and in the process lowered his hips so their dicks pressed together. He started grinding them together, with Steve's hands caught in the mix. Steve pushed back, and they found a rhythm together, like they were fucking. Billy sucked on Steve's tongue. Steve got one of his hands free to push Billy's shirt up and run his nails over his skin. Billy got up long enough to pull his shirt completely off, and then went back to Steve's tongue and lips. Steve took advantage of the available skin. He got his other hand out from its trap; their dicks now grinding together with nothing but the pressure from their pelvises to get off from. As far as Billy was concerned it was fucking working. They moved faster now. Steve's hands were around Billy's back now, pulling him closer, digging into his skin. Billy was close now. Judging by the moans and panting from Steve he was too. He moved harder and faster; fucking Steve without fucking him. 

A knock on the window and a bright light flashing through it yanked everything to a screeching halt. Steve nearly had a heart attack. Billy jolted to a halt, but instead of surprise his expression was more along the lines of “fuck, not again”.   
“Hey, you in there! What do you think you're doing?”   
Steve was on his back under the window so he couldn't see who was outside. Billy could see, and was the one who replied, while practically scrambling off Steve's body.   
“Nothing, officer.”   
Steve nearly screamed at the sheer shitty luck he was presented with. He quickly struggled to get his clothes back in order. Billy was doing the same.   
“Step outside, right now.”   
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Steve considered disobeying and just hopping into the front seat to drive away. However, that would be monumentally stupid, so instead he took a deep breath, sucked it up, and opened the door to get out. Outside was officer Phil Callahan, looking somewhere between smug and scared, and when Billy exited the car behind Steve he added disgusted to the mix.   
“A couple of homos, huh? Your mommies never teach you not to do stuff like that in public?”  
“My mommy teaching me anything about shit like that would be weird,” Billy said, and after a pause he added “officer”. “Also, this doesn't count as being in public.”  
Steve wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up, but didn't want to make things worse.   
“Don't get smart with me.” Officer Callahan pulled himself up in a display of being in control of the situation. “You're both coming with me to the station.”  
“Oh, come on!” Billy's outburst was full of exasperated disbelief.   
“Shut up,” Steve whispered loudly. “You're making it worse.”  
Billy took a deep breath and continued in a calmer fashion.   
“Can we please grab our jackets and wallets before coming with you, officer?”  
Officer Callahan hesitated but eventually nodded; making sure to tell them to hurry it up. They did. Steve was too freaked out to do anything other than what he was told. Billy was calmer about it, and got their cigarettes in addition to his wallet. 

When they got to the Hawkins police station they were placed at a desk and duly identified. Officer Callahan did a double take on Steve's name, and Billy remembered Steve had this thing with Chief Hopper. Maybe it could get them out of trouble. The police officer leaned back in his chair and looked pleased with himself for his bust.   
“What exactly is it you guys thought you were doing out there?”   
“I dropped my contact, officer. Steve was just helping me look for it.” Billy gave him his best innocent smile.   
“With your clothes off?” Officer Callahan lifted both eyebrows in a show of disbelief.   
“I thought it might have fallen in my shirt, so I took it off to check.” Billy smiled and shrugged with his hands out, like he was admitting to being silly.   
“Look you, this is serious.” Officer Callahan went all strict on them, pointing and everything. Billy wanted to flip him off.   
“Look, Officer Callahan, we're really sorry.” Steve looked over at Billy, probably trying to keep him from being an asshole towards the police. “We were being idiots and we won't do it again.”   
“You're not going to get off that easily, son. We can't have these things happening on the street.” He crossed his arms and looked smug.   
Steve kicked Billy's leg before he could point out they had not been on the street at all. He knew him so well already. Billy smiled sweetly at the police officer again.  
“We really are sorry, Officer Callahan. We'll behave exemplary from now on.”   
“What you're going to do is go sit in a cell while I get the Chief and make some calls.”   
Steve hid his face in his hands, and Billy had to call on every ounce of willpower he had to not blow a fuse in the idiot cop's face. The guy just wanted to play at being a tough cop, and it was bullshit. Billy closed his eyes and breathed slowly. He was going to behave. He was going to be a good boyfriend and not get Steve in more trouble than was necessary. He hoped Chief Hopper would tell Officer Callahan to stop being a stupid prick and let them be on their way. Public indecency that wasn't actually public wasn't exactly a big crime. So he kept quiet when they were led to the cells, separate ones out of reach of each other, and left to wait for whatever the hell came next. As soon as the cop had left Steve leaned his head against the bars and closed his eyes.   
“Billy?”  
“Yeah?” Billy went over to the bars of his cell, as close to Steve as he could get right now.   
“How much trouble are we in?” Steve didn't open his eyes.   
“Not a lot. A sensible cop would tell us off, and then tell us to be on our way and not do this shit again.” Billy looked at the door. “Officer Diligent out there doesn't seem to be sensible tonight.”  
“I noticed.”  
“Maybe Chief Hopper will be more sensible.”  
“I fucking hope so.” Steve rubbed his face with his hands. “God, this is so embarrassing.”   
“And we didn't even get to get off.” Billy sighed dramatically.   
“ _That's_ what you're thinking about now?” Steve looked at Billy with a hint of disbelief.   
“I'm thinking about being a good boyfriend and not being an asshole.” Billy hoped the smile he sent Steve would make him feel better. “The other part was just an observation of the unfairness of the situation.”   
Steve smiled back, so that was something. Billy sat down to wait on the floor, instead of the uncomfortable piece of plastic that passed for a seat. He leaned the head against the wall and closed his eyes. It was late and they'd been on the road for hours.   
“Steve?”  
“Yeah?”  
“You might as well sit down and try to get comfortable. We might be in for a long wait.” Billy yawned.  
“Are you going to sleep in here?” Even without seeing him Billy could tell he couldn't believe something like that was possible.   
“If you want to talk, we'll talk.” Billy remembered Officer Diligent hadn't taken their cigarettes. He   
took them out, lit one, and then put the lighter into the pack before tossing it to his fellow prisoner. Steve lit one with obvious relief. He had company, and they had cigs, at least until the cop figured out they had them, so maybe the wait wouldn't be too bad. 

Steve didn't know how much time had passed when Officer Callahan came back, but it felt like hours. He and Billy had talked for a while, but then Billy had dozed off. It was beyond Steve how anyone could sleep in a situation like this. Billy woke up quickly when the door slammed open, but he looked a little groggy when they were led out of the cell and into Chief Hopper's office. Steve dreaded this conversation. Right now he was less worried about charges than being judged for doing homosexual things. Homosexual things with Billy Hargrove, no less. When they walked into the office Hopper was sitting at his desk looking displeased. It was a look Steve had thought the man had perfected years ago, but now he could see there had been more to draw from. They sat down quietly and waited for him to speak. The first thing Hopper did was tell Callahan to leave the room. After a brief protest, he did. Hopper sighed in a way that held a large amount of disappointment, drank some coffee, then looked at both Steve and Billy in turn.   
“What the hell did I just get called in for? In the middle of the goddamn night.”   
“A misdemeanor, sir,” Billy said. “If that.”   
“Sex in a public place?”  
“That depends on your definition of sex.” Billy's tone wasn't argumentative, but Steve was worried he'd piss off the chief anyway.   
“ _Enlighten_ me.” Hopper's voice took on that booming commanding tone that made criminals cringe.   
“We fooled around.” Steve cringed, and felt like a criminal. “We didn't have sex. I mean, not actual sex. Just fooled around.”  
“Officer Callahan said you were in various states of undress.”   
“I had my shirt off, and his was pulled up.” Billy pointed as he explained. “That's it.”   
Steve glanced over at Billy and seriously hoped Callahan hadn't seen, and reported, the other state of undress they had been in.   
“And you couldn't find a better place to do it than the parking lot of the mall?” Hopper leaned forward on his desk. It made him loom, even while sitting.   
“At that moment, uh, no.” Steve smiled sheepishly. He was so embarrassed he could die.   
“Why?”  
“We were late coming into Hawkins, and I wasn't sure if I should knock on my parents' door or if we should get a motel room, or just plain sleep in the car. And we just kinda... got distracted.” Steve noticed so embarrassed he could die wasn't the highest point of embarrassment, because he'd just reached a higher level. He wanted to just crawl into a deep dark hole and lie down quietly.   
“Got distracted.” It wasn't a question. “Well, I might have willing to buy that. But, you see, Officer Callahan did a good job on the background check. Made some calls.”  
Steve tried to steel himself for what would be coming next. He had a suspicion he knew what it was.   
“Billy Hargrove here has a rap sheet. One that pertains to the situation at hand.”  
“Actually, it doesn't,” Steve quickly threw in. Technically, it did, but he didn't have to tell Hopper how he'd met Billy.   
“There are a lot of Billy Hargroves out there,” Billy added.   
“In the same state, at the same age?” Hopper held up a piece of paper with a badly printed black and white photograph on it. “Oh, and gee, look, a mugshot. Cut the crap, kid.”  
“Yeah, okay, I got a rap sheet.” Billy sounded defiant. “What of it?”  
“Prostitution? Really, Billy? Prostitution?” He looked over at Steve. “I thought you were better than this.”   
“It's not like that.” Steve tried to think of a way to explain how it was without going into detail about how he actually wasn't better than that. He took a steeling breath, and jumped in. “He's my boyfriend.”  
“Your what now?”  
“Boyfriend,” Billy repeated.   
“And you expect me to believe that, with this sheet in my hand?” He waved the paper.   
“Look, Chief Hopper, I'm not going to say the charges were unreasonable, or unfair. Okay?” Billy's tone said he was being honest. Steve appreciated it, and he thought Hopper would too. “Though, one of them kinda was. But Steve's not like that. I mean, he _knows_ , but that's not what this is.” Billy looked at Steve, and Steve saw a lot of feeling in there that he liked. Warmth. Something more. “Steve is better than that. He's so much better he's able to look past it, and see _me_.” He looked back to Hopper. “Do you know how much that means? You know him. Right? You know he's better.”   
Steve wanted to kiss him, even if it was in front of Hopper. He couldn't take his eyes off Billy now. He felt so much, and all of it was good, and he didn't care if he went to jail or whatever right now, because right now all he could feel was what Billy had just said.   
“I'm not _that_ good, but he really is my boyfriend.” Steve looked at Hopper for just a moment before looking back to Billy. “I swear to god he is.”   
He heard Hopper sigh a long suffering sigh.  
“You know what, I'm starting to believe you. Less because of what you say and more because of how you're looking at each other right now. I've seen a lot of people in love in my time, and the two of you are definitely it.”   
They both looked at him. Steve wondered how obvious they were on a general basis. Could people tell just from looking at them? That was a concerning thought. His briefly forgotten embarrassment came back. 

Billy had really hoped Officer Diligent hadn't been bright enough to make the right calls. His rap sheet might complicate matters, because two of those arrests he'd had for prostitution had ended in convictions. Misdemeanors, with very mild consequences, all things considered. However, two prior convictions would put a third one in felony territory, and even a mild sentence might get him land in jail for 6 months. He hadn't told Steve this. He looked at Chief Hopper, not sure if he wanted the man to see just how worried he was about it.   
“So how much trouble am I in?” Billy tried his best to not wince like he wanted to in expectation of bad news.   
“Your history says I should put you in more trouble than you're in right now.” Chief Hopper looked at Billy meaningfully.  
“Yeah, I know, but another conviction would be really bad.” Billy wondered how he could ask to get let out of trouble without sounding like he was begging for leniency.   
“How bad?” asked Steve.  
“Jail time,” the Chief replied matter of factly, facing Billy. “Every prior conviction makes the next one worse, and you have two for a similar offense.”   
“Shit.” Steve glanced at Billy but then focused fully on Chief Hopper. “Is there anything you can do?”  
“You want me to bend the law for your boyfriend?” He gave Steve one of those displeased look-over-the-glasses looks elderly teachers and librarians perfected, only he wasn't wearing glasses.   
“I... fuck.” Steve hung his head, but quickly looked up again. “Look, we didn't set out to be indecent, or whatever you call what we're in trouble for. We were just stupid. Age obviously hasn't done much to make me brighter, and this whole gay thing is really fucking new to me.” Steve paused for just a second after the curse, like he was waiting for the Chief to protest it. “And it makes me do stupid shit I wouldn't normally do. I don't even know what the fuck I'm doing most of the time. Not that I ever did before, either.”   
“The whole gay thing?” Chief Hopper raised his eyebrows with something that was a mix between confusion, skepticism, and unimpressedness.   
“Is it weird that you can go your whole life thinking you're straight, and then something happens that makes you wonder if maybe you've been wrong all along? Because that's me. I didn't realize. Then I did, and I met Billy, and it's only been a few months. so I'm still being _really_ unintelligent about it.” Steve talked faster the further into it he got. Billy put a hand carefully over Steve's, and it made him stop his ramble. “Shit, I don't even know if I'm making sense.”  
“You're making sense. But you weren't the only participant.”  
“No, but I'd been pissy half the drive, because he flirted with some girls, so he was just trying to be a good boyfriend and cheer me up.”  
Billy said nothing about the barely partial truth Steve was spinning. As far as Billy knew Steve had not, in fact, been pissy half the drive, and Billy had sure as hell not climbed into the back with him just to be a good boyfriend. Steve was turning into a good liar. Billy wasn't sure it was a good thing, but it was entertaining to watch. He wondered if the Chief would buy it. 

Hopper drained his coffee cup and leaned back in his chair.   
“Luckily for you two idiots, I don't agree with Officer Callahan that fooling around in the backseat of a car in a dark parking lot counts as indecent behavior. It is indecent behavior, just not in the misdemeanor sense of the word. Even if you are both men. If I understood him correctly he felt it should count as extra indecent for that reason.”  
Both Billy and Steve audibly sighed in relief. Steve turned his hand around and took hold of Billy's that was on top of it. He didn't get upset about Officer Callahan's idea that it was more indecent for two men to go about it than a man and a woman. It was the normal way of thinking, after all.   
“But don't ever do that again under my jurisdiction.” Hopper pointed at both in turn.   
“Yes, sir,” they both said in sync. They looked at each other and grinned.   
“I'll have to have a long talk with him about it. And about waking me up in the middle of the night for crap he shouldn't be bothering with in the first place. And don't tell him I told you that.”  
“Do _you_ think it's extra indecent?” Steve asked, but regretted it the moment it was out. “Sorry, ignore that.”   
“No. I've seen enough shit that things like that just aren't important anymore. Frankly, I'm not sure I ever cared. It's none of my business.” He paused to point again. “As long as you keep it off my streets.”  
“Which part?” Billy sounded a little like he was gearing up to get upset. Steve squeezed his hand.   
“The half naked groping.” Hopper stopped and sighed in a way that suggested he was disappointed in his fellow man. “Honestly, I'd recommend you keep all of it off the street. Not everyone agrees it's none of their business, and some of them aren't nice about it.”  
“We know.” Steve nodded.   
“My hip still sometimes hurts from a beating I took for being a fag.” Billy absently rubbed at the area that should have healed by now. “We definitely know.”   
“I'm sorry that happened to you, kid,” Hopper said sympathetically. “I won't let it happen to you here. Just be careful who you come out to, is all. There are other ways to hurt you than beatings.”  
Steve sighed. They knew that too. He still wasn't sure he should come out to his parents. They weren't the most tolerant people in the world, and it might be a bad idea to push it. The best idea might be to just pretend he was single, and that Billy was just his best friend. It would mean sleeping in separate rooms at the house, but that alternative was probably better than risk being kicked out and have their trip ruined. If he were to come out to them he'd do it on the last day, right before leaving. 

Hopper interrupted Steve's thoughts.   
“Now that that's settled, how about we settle where you're staying tonight?”   
“I guess we'll just have to hope the motel has a room.” Steve shrugged. They'd figure it out.   
“Why don't you both come stay at my place?” He addressed Steve. “Joyce and the kids will be thrilled to see you.”  
“Uh, wow, we wouldn't want to impose.” Steve was grateful for the offer, but also concerned about how awkward it might get.   
“It's not imposing when I invite you. And it'll help me make sure you don't do stupid crap in your car again.”   
“We definitely won't do that again,” said Steve.   
“In Hawkins,” Billy added helpfully.   
Hopper gave him a displeased look again and Billy, to his credit, looked apologetic.   
“I'll have a quick word with Callahan, then I'll drive you to your car, and you follow me home. And make sure you follow close. No bullshit.”  
“Wouldn't dream of it.” Billy's smile was just short of cheeky.   
Hopper looked at Steve. “You're really dating this guy?”  
“I'm really dating this guy.”   
“It's going to be an interesting morning.” With that Hopper left them in the office. 

After a few moments of quiet deliberation they followed him. They more or less tiptoed outside and smoked in the parking lot until Hopper emerged from the building. None of them said a word on the drive to the mall. As soon as they were in Steve's car Steve pulled Billy towards him so he could kiss him quickly, before starting the car and following Hopper through the streets. Billy lit them another cigarette each. After a scare like tonight they needed more than one to calm their nerves. Billy slowly exhaled after a deep drag.   
“Fuck, that was scary.”  
“No shit. Oh my god.” Steve let some of the pent up fear out through the next breath he took. He looked over at Billy. “Let's be good upstanding citizens for the rest of the stay, huh?”  
“Fine by me.” Billy had another deep drag and exhale. “So what's this Joyce and the kids thing?”  
“What? Oh, right. Joyce Byers and Chief Hopper got a house together, so they could raise Will and Jane together. They're not a couple or anything, they just figured two single parents working together to raise two troubled teenagers was better than doing it separately.” Steve nudged Billy's leg. “Everyone's waiting for them to just be a couple already. There's definitely something there. They're just in denial.”  
“Denial is a powerful drug. I see a lot of it at work.”  
“That makes it sound like you work in a shrink office.”  
“You'd be surprised at how many people I've played therapist for.” He leaned back in his seat and blew smoke up into the roof of the car. Steve didn't tell him to not deliberately get the smell stuck on the interior.   
“People like me.” Steve remembered being confused and troubled by his thoughts and wants, but he no longer felt it. He felt more comfortable with himself now than he probably ever had. It was weird, but not in a bad way. “Or do you mean people who have a therapy kink and want to roleplay?”  
“Both.” Billy laughed. “I didn't even know you knew the meaning of the word kink, even though you definitely have some. You didn't need a lot of therapy to get where you were going. You just needed a little push in the right direction. Or pull, depending on how you look at it.”  
“A suck,” Steve said, remembering his first encounter with Billy as an adult.   
Billy laughed again. Steve joined him. Part of it was residual relief from getting out of the massive amount of trouble they could have been in. 

They arrived at a big suburban house. Two stories, probably a basement. Double garage. Big ass front lawn that was meticulously mowed. The kind of place Billy would never live in. He'd probably be okay with never living in a place like that. He hated mowing lawns. He chose to ignore that if he could afford a place like that he could probably afford paying someone to do it for him. Maybe some kid on the street. He shook off stupid thoughts while Steve parked in the driveway. They closed their car doors quietly, aware they were in a suburban neighborhood in the early hours of the morning. They followed the Chief inside. The place looked even better on the inside. Clean, tidy, roomy, and bright. There were noises coming from somewhere. They went towards them. They entered the kitchen and found Joyce Byers making coffee and readying breakfast. She didn't look over until she was well into the sentence.   
“I figured you'd want some good coffee, since it's too late to... Steve!” She hurried over and wrapped her arms around Steve in a tight hug. He hugged her back. She was very small.   
Billy stood in the background. He didn't know how she'd react to seeing him. He hadn't exactly been a friend to anyone she'd ever known. More the opposite. She finished the hug and looked over at Billy.   
“You look familiar, but I can't quite place you.”  
Billy was happy for that break. He went over to her with his hand out.  
“I'm Billy.” He purposefully left out his last name, and also his relationship to Steve. He'd let the other man decide what to do with that.   
She introduced herself as Joyce, so that was what he went with.   
“Are you why Jim had to go out in the middle of the night?” She looked at them in confusion. “I thought it was an emergency.”  
“The boys just got in a little trouble with Callahan, and he overreacted. Nothing serious.” Chief Hopper went over to the coffee maker, probably to check how long until it was done. “I said they could stay here tonight. Not that there's much left of it. I think they've been up all night. Got into town late.”   
“Oh, okay. I just need to figure out which room to put you in. We don't have a guest room. Jim keeps saying he'll make one in the basement, but that hasn't happened yet.” She looked at the man with mischief on her face.   
“I've been busy.” Chief Hopper sounded more defensive than he probably was, judging by the expression on both his and Joyce's face.   
“I know. I wasn't complaining.”  
“They can stay in my room. I won't be going back there until tonight, at which point I expect they'll be well rested and on their way.” He looked at Steve. “I'm assuming you'll go to your folks' place.”  
“Yeah, probably.”  
“Probably?” Joyce raised her eyebrows at him.   
He just smiled at her. Further conversation was cut off by a teen girl poking her head into the room.   
“Steve's here,” she said with a smile.   
“Hi, Jane.” Steve held out his arms and she hugged him.   
When the hug was over she turned to Billy and looked at him with an intensity that quickly made him uncomfortable.   
“I know you.”  
“Probably not in a good way. I'm Billy.” He held out his hand. She didn't take it. He looked to Steve who gave him some quick signs that said it was okay and he'd explain later. Billy put his hand down.   
“Max's brother,” she said. “You disappeared.”  
“Yeah.” He wasn't sure what to think about her directness. Teenage him would have pointed out it was _step_ brother. Twenties him was perfectly okay with being referred to as brother.   
He heard Joyce gasp. Here it was. He braced himself, expecting to be kicked out.   
“I didn't realize it was you. Max and Susan told me about you. It must be so hard to come back, with everything that happened.” She came over to him and took his hands. “I'm sorry we didn't realize. That no one did. It must have been so difficult for you. Being all alone about it.” She hugged him. Billy didn't know what to do about it, so he hugged her back. This was absolutely not the reaction he'd expected.   
It seemed Steve could tell what he was thinking.   
“This is Joyce all over. You learn to love it.”  
Billy said nothing, but he gave Steve a smile. Joyce looked up at Billy and smiled.   
“I'll get the bed ready. I hope you don't mind sharing. You can have breakfast now or after you wake up. I can cook twice.”   
“He's Steve's boyfriend,” said the girl, Jane, to a boy who'd just entered the room.   
Both Steve and Billy froze. Joyce went over to her.  
“Jane, you know you can't just blurt these things out. People need to get a chance to tell things themselves.”  
“I'm sorry. I wanted Will to know.”   
“Steve, how the hell?” Billy looked at Steve for answers.   
“Jane's really observant. We'll tell you about it later,” Chief Hopper answered.  
Billy nodded, and hoped they really would explain, because that shit was freaky. He'd understand if they didn't want to tell him, though. Steve trusting him didn't mean they would, and he got the impression this Jane thing was something special. He looked over at the boy and wondered if there was a particular reason she'd wanted him to know. He noticed Joyce showed no surprise or alarm at the revelation Steve had a boyfriend.   
“Come on, Jane. Help me get the bed ready.” Joyce turned the teen around, with only a few murmurs of discontent from the girl. Just before they exited Joyce turned to Steve and gave him a cheeky grin. “I guess that means you definitely don't mind sharing.” With that she was gone.   
Steve looked mortified. Billy laughed. The Chief pulled himself up taller to look menacing.  
“There will be no funny business in my bed.”  
“None at all,” said Steve meekly.   
Billy was intensely surprised at the easy acceptance of the situation, and a little suspicious. No one accepted someone being gay this quickly and easily. Something was going on here. She didn't even seem surprised. Had Steve projected being gay all along without even realizing it? Billy made a mental note to ask Joyce about it later, when Steve wasn't listening. 

Will went over to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup. He lifted the pot as a way of offering coffee to Steve and Billy, who both declined. Steve did not need caffeine in his system right now. He needed sleep. Steve got them water instead, and they all sat down at the table. Steve sat across from Will. Billy was next to Steve, and Hopper was at the end of the table.   
“How's life, Will?”  
“Good.” He took a sip of his cup, projecting nonchalance. “I didn't know you had a boyfriend.”  
“It's a recent development,” Steve said with a smile.   
“I didn't know you're gay.”  
“For a long time I didn't either.” Steve knew complete honesty was the way to go. Will was a good kid. Better than most. “And I'm not sure I'm all the way gay. Gay enough to have a boyfriend, I guess.”  
“Why him?” He nodded over to Billy, like he wasn't a participant in the conversation.   
“Will.” Hopper's tone was warning.   
“It's fine,” said Billy. “He has good reason to ask.”   
“He's not as big of an asshole as he used to be.” Steve gave a very small shrug, not wanting to disrupt the show of nonchalance they had going on.   
“That makes it sound like he's still an asshole, just not as much.” Will glared lightly in Billy's direction.   
“I kind of am.” Billy wasn't one to be a passive participant of anything.   
“Why are you dating an asshole?” Will kept mostly ignoring Billy. Steve couldn't blame him.   
“Because I like him. He's not an asshole in a bad way.” Steve threw Billy a glance. “Not anymore.”  
“That doesn't make sense.”   
“I know. A lot of this doesn't make sense.” Steve had a sip of water, and tried to project indifference. “Does it have to make sense?”  
“I guess not.” Will did the same as Steve, like it was a contest for showing the least interest in the conversation, while still having it. “What's it like having a boyfriend?”   
“Much the same as having a girlfriend. Only this suits me better.” Steve smiled when he thought about it. “Feels more natural.”  
“You comparing me to a girl, Harrington?” Billy threw out, with a notable lack of irritation in his voice.   
“I'm not comparing you to anything. You're incomparable.” Steve replied to Billy, but kept his focus on Will. He knew Billy would understand.   
He saw Billy grin from the corner of his eye. 

Jane and Joyce returned, got themselves some coffee, and sat down too. Jane next to Will, across from Billy. She studied Billy with the same intensity again.   
“Why are you with Steve?”  
“Because I like him. A lot.” Billy decided to follow Steve's example and just be honest.   
“How much?” She sipped her coffee between questions, much like Will had.   
Billy didn't know how to answer that. He a lot more than liked Steve, but he wasn't sure he should say that here and now, without telling Steve first.  
“It's really hard to quantify how you feel about someone.”  
“Love?” She raised her eyebrows.   
“It might be a little early for that,” Steve interjected, essentially saving Billy's ass.   
“You're boyfriends without loving each other?” She tilted her head and looked confused.   
“Okay, that's enough of that line of conversation,” the Chief interrupted.   
Billy decided to answer before doing what the man said.   
“You can date someone before you love them. Actually, you should do that. You do it because you think you _can_ love them, eventually. That it's possible, maybe even probable, if you're lucky.” He smiled at her. “We're not bright. Give us time.”  
She smiled back at him. She seemed to like the answer. Billy knew he could love Steve. He also knew he might already be there, maybe, but he didn't want to go down that lane of thought just yet. He didn't want to put any pressure on the man. If he started thinking he loved him he might do something to pressure him without being aware of it. They'd figure their shit out eventually. As long as he could keep spending time with Steve he was in no hurry. Joyce patted him on the arm.   
“That's a very good answer.”   
“Thanks.” He smiled at her. These people were cool. He looked over at Chief Hopper, wanting to thank him. “Chief, I-”  
“Hopper,” the man interrupted. “If you're gonna be Steve's boyfriend, it's just Hopper. Unless you start causing trouble in Hawkins. Then it's right back to _Chief_ Hopper.”  
Billy grinned. “Thank you, Hopper, for today.”  
“I was just doing my job.”  
“You were doing your job sensibly, and it wasn't part of your job to invite us here.” Billy inclined his head in thanks. “Thank you.”  
“You're welcome.” Hopper inclined his head towards Billy in return.   
“Yeah, thanks,” Steve chimed in. “You too, Joyce.”   
She smiled at both of them, and then got up to start breakfast. 

Jane looked at Steve with no expression.   
“Me and Will too?”  
“I don't know. You haven't done anything yet.” Steve gave her a grin that was all mischief.   
“I helped make the bed.” She crossed her arms.   
“Okay then. Thank you, Jane.” He nodded in thanks to her. Billy followed suit.   
“And Will?”   
“I'll give Will a thanks if he can manage to gather the whole gang later today. Everyone.” Steve looked at Will in a way he hoped said “I have a mission for you”.   
“Nancy and Jonathan too?” Will perked up noticeably.   
“Yup.” Steve nodded cheerfully. Seeing Nancy and Jonathan together had stopped stinging a long time ago.   
“Where?” Will sat up straight. He was grinning.   
“You know where my parents live?” Steve was finally going to show everyone his secret spot. He didn't really know why he hadn't shown them before. It wasn't all that special.  
“Mhm.” He nodded.   
“Meet me where that street starts, and I'll show the way. We'll be going on foot.”  
“Where are we going?” Will's eyes were practically sparkling. Steve really enjoyed being the one to make him this excited.   
“A secret place. It's cool. Trust me.”  
“Okay.” Will nodded, fully willing to trust Steve. “When?”   
“I dunno.” Steve looked at Billy for help. “Billy?”  
“Not before like 4pm. I need sleep.” Billy stretched his neck. It made a strange sound.   
“You slept in jail.” Steve gave him a displeased look.   
“Dozed. Doesn't count.”  
“How anyone can doze in a situation like that is beyond me.” Steve shook his head in disbelief.  
“I was tired.” Billy shrugged, then yawned. “Tired now too, actually.”  
“You were in _jail_?” Joyce stopped what she was doing and looked between them and Hopper.   
“Callahan was being extra careful.” Hopper shrugged with one shoulder. “They're fine. Nothing to worry about.“  
“We really are fine,” Billy agreed. He yawned again. “Sorry. Seems the trip is catching up to me.”  
“The bed is all made for you, so you can go sleep,” Joyce said, going back to her cooking. “There's an alarm clock in there too, if you don't want to risk sleeping until nightfall. I'll make you something to eat when you wake up.”   
“Thanks, Joyce. You're awesome.” Steve got up from the table, and Billy was on his feet only moments later. Steve hurried over to Joyce and kissed her on the cheek.   
“Yeah, thanks. And I agree with him.” Billy nodded in Steve's direction. He did not approach her.   
“You're both so sweet.” She smiled happily. Steve loved that smile. He sneaked a look over at Hopper and could tell he loved it too, in a different way entirely. “Jane, can you show them to your dad's room?”  
“Okay.” Jane went to the door and waited for them to follow.   
Will followed close behind. “You didn't say when.”  
“Let's say 4:30. And have people bring snacks and something to drink. Talking might take a while.”  
Will nodded in an “aye aye, captain” kind of way and left them. 

The room they entered was simply furnished. A large bed, a wardrobe, a small desk, a chair, and two bedside tables. It was a nice room. There were pictures on the wall of Will and Jane, and a girl Billy didn't know. After Jane had left them he asked about her, and Steve explained it was Hopper's first daughter, who was dead. Shit, that was a bummer. Poor guy. Billy was glad he'd asked. He was going to avoid that conversation like the plague. True to Steve's word they didn't try any funny business. They simply undressed and crawled under the covers. Brushing their teeth would have to wait, because they hadn't thought to bring their bags in from the car. They turned off the lights. It didn't go completely dark, but it was close. Billy did something that might have initiated “funny business”, had they been inclined to it. He scooted over to Steve and kissed him. Just a soft kiss, to say good night. Steve kissed him back, and it was sweet. Billy didn't move away. He didn't wrap his arms around Steve, or try to snuggle him or anything like that, but he did take his hand as he lay next to him under the covers. Steve held it tight.   
“This is nice,” Steve said, stifling a yawn that threatened to take over the last word.   
“Mmm,” Billy agreed. He was already half dozing. “You know some really cool people.”  
“Yeah, I know. You'll get to meet more of them later.”   
“Including Max, I take it.” That thought brought him out of the doze. Last time he'd seen her he'd been very mean to her. He'd always been mean to her.   
“Mhm.”  
“That'll be interesting.” Billy wasn't looking forward to the big meeting, but he knew Steve was, and he wasn't about to start complaining, or trying to get out of coming along.   
“Yes, it will.” He squeezed Billy's hand. “It'll be fine, you know. They might freak out a little at first, Lucas and Mike in particular, but they'll come around.”  
“You think so?” Billy looked up into the dark between him and the ceiling.   
“I'm sure of it. There might be some snarky comments, but you can handle that.”  
“I can. I've earned them.” Billy sighed to himself. He'd been such an asshole back then.   
“Let's not worry about the earning part,” Steve said calmly. “That was years ago, and you're not like that anymore.”  
“I'm not so sure about that.” Billy rubbed his thumb over the hand he was holding. It was comforting to have those fingers twined with his own.   
“Hey, I'd rather fuck you than fight you, so there's been _some_ improvement. I'll have you know I'm a good judge of character.”  
“No, you're not.” Billy scoffed in amusement.   
“No,” Steve admitted, and Billy heard a laugh behind it. “But Jane and Hopper are, and they already like you. I know them well enough to be able to tell.”  
Steve turned to him without letting go of his hand and kissed him again.   
“It'll be fine. Trust me.”  
“Okay. I do.” Billy nodded to him, even though he wasn't sure he could see it in the dim light.   
“Good, now let's sleep so we can wake up in time to eat before going out.”  
“Sounds good,” Billy said. “Good night.”  
“Good night,” Steve replied.  
Billy started sliding into sleep almost immediately. Steve's confidence had calmed some of his worries. No matter how they reacted when they met up, Steve had Billy's back, and that was worth a lot.


	15. Chapter 15

Later the same day Billy woke up before the alarm, feeling surprisingly refreshed. Hopper's bed was comfortable, and sleeping next to Steve made it even better. Steve was peacefully asleep. Not even snoring. Billy got out of bed without waking him, got dressed, then rummaged in Steve's pants pockets until he found the car keys. He went out to get their bags. If he was going to meet the Goonies today he didn't want to look like he'd been on the road for a day, and spent hours in a cell. He was going to look fucking presentable. He ran into Joyce on the way back in. She smiled at him sweetly.   
“Hello, Billy. How did you sleep?”  
“Like a baby.”  
“Waking up every half hour to cry?” She grinned at him, and he loved the mischief in her eyes.   
He laughed. This woman was awesome.   
“Is there a shower I could borrow? I'd like to get the remnants of the road trip off me.”  
“Oh, of course. There's a bathroom right next to Jim's bedroom. Between his and mine, actually. This house is a _dream_ for parents of teenagers.” She said it in a way that embodied how wonderful she thought it was. “Two full bathrooms. One for them and one for us.”  
“Which one will I be borrowing?”  
“You and Steve get to use the parent bathroom.” She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. “Fewer products and less teen body angst.”  
Apart from Steve, Joyce was now Billy's favorite person in Hawkins.   
“Thank you. That's very generous.” He grinned at her. “I think I had my fill of teen body angst back when I was one, and the excess of products.” He leaned in and whispered the same way she had. “Not to mention cologne. Lots and lots of cologne.”  
She giggled and waved him on so he could go have a shower. 

When he got back to the room Steve was awake. Groggy and still in bed, but awake.   
“Good morning, pretty boy.”  
“ _Is_ it morning?”  
“Nope.” He put Steve's bag on top of him on the bed. “I brought your bag. I'm going to have a shower.”  
“Want company?” Steve struggled his way out from under the bag.   
“I want you to pick what I wear today.” It wasn't what he'd meant to say, but fuck it, why not?   
“The fuck?” Steve looked like he woke up in a hurry. “You want me to dress you?”   
“Don't pick something indecent.” He hurried out of the room before Steve could protest.   
The bathroom was nice and bright, and as promised there was only a sensible amount of products in it. The shower had one shampoo, one conditioner, and two body soaps. One for her and one for him. He had probably twice that at home just for himself. He might be a little embarrassed at that right now. Jaqueline's part of the bathroom was flooded, and by comparison his share had looked sensible. Compared to this bathroom he was a teenager with body angst. He didn't waste time showering. Steve would want one too, and they had places to be. He came back to clothes laid out on the bed for him, with Steve grinning next to them. Billy dreaded what he'd chosen, given the wicked grin on Steve's face, but reminded himself he'd left the really racy shit at home. Dark blue jeans, and the tightest t-shirt he'd brought. A MacGuyver shirt that was technically a size too small. He'd brought that to tempt Steve when they were alone. Seemed Steve wanted some tempting when they weren't alone too. Billy looked at his expression, and decided he could provide that. Would be fun to try to do it without the Goonies noticing. He grinned back. Steve winked at him and went off to have a shower, while Billy got dressed. While he was gone Billy decided to get even, and pulled out some clothes he wanted Steve to wear. It remained to be seen if Steve agreed to wear them. 

When Steve got out of the shower he was amused to find clothes laid out for him. Billy was sitting on the bed next to them, looking pleased with himself. Steve hadn't brought anything overtly sexy, so he had no issues putting on what Billy had chosen for him, though it would seem he'd chosen the tightest jeans in the bag. Coupled with it was an A-Team t-shirt. They chose their own shirts to go over. They both left them open, else what was the point of the t-shirts? They packed their bags up again and took them with them, since they weren't staying. They parked them by the entrance, and went to the kitchen. Joyce already had food ready for them. Steve went over to her and kissed her on the cheek.   
“Joyce Byers, you are amazing.”  
“Oh, you.” She swatted at him.   
“This looks delicious,” Billy said as he sat down.   
“I hope it is. I think the scrambled eggs are a little dry, and the bacon got a little burnt on the edges.”   
“It looks fine to me.” Steve joined Billy at the table.   
They dug in, and Steve didn't find anything wrong with it. Looking at how Billy was eating he didn't either. Joyce didn't have much confidence in her cooking. Steve knew how that felt. He thought of how Billy had dragged him into cooking with him, and had an idea.   
“Hey, Billy.”  
“Mm?” Billy had a mouth full, and sensibly didn't open his mouth.   
“One evening while we're here you should cook for everyone.”  
Billy raised his eyebrows and swallowed.   
“Oh, you cook?” Joyce asked with interest.   
“Yeah. Some. I like it.” He shrugged.   
“He's great at it.” Steve enjoyed being able to brag about his boyfriend.   
“Who is everyone?” Billy gave Steve a suspicious look.   
Steve was glad to hear it wasn't a blank no.   
“The kids, Joyce, Hopper, maybe Nancy and Jonathan?”   
“That would be lovely. Like a big family dinner.” Joyce clasped her hands together in excitement.   
Steve could actually see Billy melt on the inside at her words. It was fascinating to watch. That dinner would definitely be happening. No way would Billy say no now.   
“Sure.” Billy smiled at Joyce, then turned to Steve. “Just don't sell it as some big fancy thing. I usually only cook for 3 people. _Simple_ meals for 3 people.”  
“I won't sell it as anything. And we can help make the food, under your guidance.” Steve pointed between himself and Joyce, who nodded.   
“Steve?” Billy smiled sweetly at him, and Steve got suspicious.   
“Hm?”  
“You haven't even asked Joyce if it's okay to have the big dinner here.”  
“Oh crap.” Steve looked over at Joyce, embarrassed at his oversight.   
“Of course it's okay.” She waved away any apology he might want to give. “We have room. We'll have to get creative with chairs, but we can figure it out.”   
“Cool”, said Steve. “We can figure out the when and the how when we've had a chance to talk to people.”  
“Sounds good,” said Joyce.   
Billy only nodded, and finished his food. He looked comfortable and happy, so Steve wasn't worried he'd screwed something up. Steve finished his own food, and made sure to tell Joyce how delicious it had been. Billy joined in the praise. She was pleased, in an embarrassed sort of way. They helped her clean up after, then they all had a companionable cigarette at the table. Steve told her about their drive, and admitted to her why they'd landed in jail, without going into details. She laughed. He'd known she wouldn't freak out. She was just that kind of person. 

It quickly became 4pm, so they said their goodbyes to Joyce, and took themselves and their stuff to Steve's car. Billy was getting nervous, so he had another cigarette as soon as Steve pulled out of the driveway. They'd decided to wait to meet Steve's parents until after the meeting with the Goonies. Steve admitted he didn't even know if they were at home this weekend, and that he sort of hoped they weren't. Billy couldn't blame him. He hoped he'd go the whole stay in Hawkins without so much as catching sight of his dad at a distance. He didn't even remotely want to deal with what might happen if they ran into him. Steve held out two fingers for a cigarette, and Billy lit a new one for him instead of handing him the one he was already smoking.   
“We need to decide something before getting there,” Steve said when he was handed the smoke.   
“What?” Billy hoped it was something silly and unimportant, but suspected it wasn't.  
“How much to tell them.”   
“How much to tell them about what?” Sometimes it would be nice to not be gay, and a whore, so that conversations like this weren't necessary.   
“Us.” He paused for two drags of the cigarettes before continuing. “Look, here's the thing, Jane sort of has a built in lie detector, and she's not shy about asking direct questions. Very direct ones.”   
“I noticed.” She hadn't beaten around the bush, but then, neither had Will.   
“For example, us trying to pretend we're just friends wouldn't fly around her. Not for a minute.”  
“I noticed that too. We didn't actually _tell_ her we're boyfriends.” Billy had a feeling there was more to this than what it looked like, but this wasn't the time to bring it up.   
“So...” Steve dragged the word out, but it seemed less like he was waiting for Billy to complete the sentence and more like he didn't actually know how to continue.   
“Are you saying the prostitution thing might come up?” Of course it would come up, because why the fuck not? Billy stifled a sigh with the last drag of his cigarette.   
“If we're asked directly what you do for a living, yeah, she might hook onto us not telling the truth if we try to weasel out of talking about it.” Steve turned off the main road onto a smaller one. Not that the main road in Hawkins was big.   
“That kid is creepy,” Billy said, but even as he said it he didn't feel it. The kid hadn't come off as creepy when he met her.   
“No, she's not,” said Steve, firmly but not angrily. “Just different.”  
“So, what do we do?” Telling them was an option. Billy didn't like it as an option, but it was there.   
“I guess either tell them the truth, or tell them we won't tell them.” Steve shrugged.  
“Do you trust these people? The Goonies, Nancy, Jonathan?” Billy wanted to hear Steve tell him it was okay, before he decided whether or not it was okay.   
“The Goonies?” Steve grinned immediately.   
“You can't tell me they're not. You could probably even get the Henderson kid to do the truffle shuffle.”   
“You might be right.” Steve laughed. He pulled to a stop at the side of the road, and turned fully to Billy. “Yes, I trust them. They're good people, and they're a hell of a lot less prone to judging others than other people are. I'm not even remotely worried about telling them about being gay, because I know none of them will react negatively to it. I _know_ that.”  
“There's a difference between being gay and dating the asshole who was way beyond a bully back then. I was fucking cruel.” Billy resisted the urge to light another smoke. He suspected there would be a lot of smoking happening when the conversation with the Goonies was under way.  
“Yeah, and you'll probably catch some flak for that at the start, but they'll accept it when I tell them you're different.” He reached out and took Billy's hand. Billy let it be held.   
“And how would they react to me selling my ass on the street?” Billy wasn't sure if he wanted to put it in a nicer way, or in a cruder way. The difference between selling his services for monetary gain, and getting fucked in the ass for pay.   
“If I were to venture a guess?” He started counting off on the fingers of the hand that wasn't holding Billy's. “Shock, that goes over into making fun of it, that goes over into asking me if I'm still sane, that goes over into 'okay, sure, whatever'.”  
“Detailed guess.” Billy couldn't help a grin  
“I've spent some time around them.” Steve grinned back. “The thing is, they trust me too. If I don't have an issue with it they won't either. They might at first, but it'll pass, and they'll trust my judgment.”  
“I still think you should have an issue with it.” He almost pulled his hand back from Steve's grip, but stopped himself.   
“I'm not gonna lie, I do have some issue with it.” Steve took hold of Billy's hand with both of his, like he'd caught that Billy had thought of disengaging his grip. “Just not enough that it makes me not want to be your boyfriend. And not enough to ask you to do something else for a living.”  
“Why don't you ask me to do something else for a living?” This wasn't the time to have this conversation, but Billy couldn't help himself.   
“Because it's your life, and your choice. You're bright enough to know what you're doing, and me asking you to do something else would be presumptuous, and rude.” He locked eyes with Billy. “I trust your judgment.”  
“Might not be a good idea to do that,” Billy said, and it was true, but on the inside he felt stupidly good at having Steve tell him he trusted him.   
“Don't care.”   
“Then I'll trust your judgment in return.” Billy knew he meant it as soon as it was out of his mouth.   
“In what way?” Steve played with Billy's fingers, almost absently.   
“If they ask what I do for a living I'll tell them.” Billy added his free hand to the tangle of fingers between them. He focused on that rather than look up at Steve. “They might as well learn the ugly truth early on. Not like they're gonna stop being important to you. Besides, seeing their reaction might be funny.”   
Steve leaned over and kissed him. Billy gave in to it a while. It felt like he was gathering strength for the upcoming meeting with the Goonies. When they broke apart Steve looked at him and ran his fingers along his jaw.   
“It'll be okay. I promise.”  
“Are you okay with me telling them?” Billy had to ask. Telling them wouldn't just reflect on him, it would reflect on Steve too.   
“Yes, but it's your choice. I'm okay with either.”  
Steve started the car back up, and they quickly arrived at their destination. 

Near the entrance to the street Steve used to live on there was a convenient parking area that some ass on the street had convinced the town to build, so he wouldn't have to dirty his driveway with other people's cars when he had guests over. Money could buy a lot of things, including a way out of paying for something you wanted. Right now there were two cars parked there. Nancy's and Lucas'. They must have car pooled, because everyone was already there. Steve and Billy were the last arrivals. Several of them waved to Steve when he pulled in. He waved back. Before exiting the car he had a last question for Billy.   
“How do you feel about holding my hand in front of everyone?”   
“Uh, that it's cool?” Billy looked confused. “There's a good chance we're gonna tell them your boyfriend is a prostitute, and you're asking if hand holding is okay? You're an idiot, Harrington, and it's fucking adorable.”  
“Screw you, asshole.” Steve flipped him off amicably.   
“No, but seriously, I'd like it. Holding your hand, I mean.” Billy smiled.   
“Cool.” Steve looked at his face a moment longer. “I want to kiss you, but they're watching and I'd rather tell them you're my boyfriend using words.”   
“I'll make sure to remind you I'm one short later.”  
Steve laughed. “Come on.”  
Steve exited the car and was quickly swarmed. Everyone wanted hugs, him included. He liked that the kids hadn't become more standoffish with age. They might have with other people, but with him they were still cool with hugging him properly. None of that “manly” half-assed back patting bullshit. He looked over at Billy and found him leaning on the car, watching with a smile on his face. It wasn't until everyone was done greeting Steve that anyone acknowledged Billy's presence. Lucas glared from Billy to Steve.   
“What's _he_ doing here?”   
“Have Jane and Will told you anything?”  
“No,” said Mike. “They just said to meet you here and that he'd be here.”  
“Joyce said not to tell until you do,” Jane confirmed. “But Will told everyone not to freak out, and that it's cool.”  
“It seemed appropriate,” Will said with a shrug.   
“Good.” Steve nodded. “Thank you, Jane, and Will.”   
“So what _is_ he doing here?” Lucas asked again.   
Now that it was time to tell Steve found himself hesitating. He felt like he should find better words to use; a better way of putting it. He couldn't think of anything smart, and Billy was starting to look concerned, so he just went for it.   
“He's my boyfriend.”   
The word “what” was exclaimed by several people at once, at varying volumes. Dustin tacked “the fuck” onto the end of it. Several people started asking questions, on top of each other. Steve just waited for the buzz to die down. Billy went around the back of the car and crept up to stand behind him. Steve moved so they were next to each other. He took Billy's hand without a word. It felt good to hold it. Comforting, and it made him feel stronger. In the end it was Dustin who cut through the noise.   
“Everybody shut up!” he shouted. Everybody did. He turned to face Steve, and clearly noticed Steve's hand was now occupied. “What do you mean he's your boyfriend?”  
Steve lifted his and Billy's joined fingers. “I mean exactly what you think I mean. I mean we're dating. A couple. Whatever you wanna call it.”   
“Steve?” Dustin asked calmly. “Have you lost your goddamn mind?”   
Steve chose to address everyone, and not just Dustin.   
“Follow me, and we'll talk. I don't feel like standing around talking in a parking lot.”  
“Where are we going?” asked Nancy. She was carrying what looked like a picnic basket.   
Jonathan was next to her and carrying one too. Looking around as people got ready to go he saw that everyone had a bag or backpack. Steve and Billy were the only empty handed ones. He wished he'd brought beer, but felt it was too late to make a beer run now. He'd deal. He smiled at Nancy.   
“My very own secret spot, that apparently no one else has found.”   
“Where is it?” Jonathan asked. He hadn't joined in on the shouting when Steve made his big revelation, and right now he looked decidedly unruffled by it.   
“On my uncle's property, which, come to think of it, probably goes a long way to explaining why no one's found it.” Steve grinned. “It's not far.” He pulled Billy along with him and led the way.   
Billy hadn't said anything since exiting the car. Steve squeezed his hand and looked at him as a way of asking if he was okay. Billy smiled and nodded, but remained silent. They made their way to a small path that ran through the trees by the road. It was more that the underbrush was lighter there than that it was an actual path. When they got through it they were faced with a crumbled wall, and more trees and bushes. Nothing stood out as special. Steve stubbornly didn't let go of Billy's hand even when it was impossible to walk next to each other. They went over the wall, and around a clump of huge bushes. When they got to the side of the bushes that faced away from the road Steve pushed his way in between them. From the outside it looked like it was just a collection of bushes and trees that no one bothered to do anything with, and technically it was what it was. Inside, however, there was a relatively large clearing. Steve had found it when he was a kid, after his dad informed him his uncle owned the property, but didn't live there or do anything with it. Investment, he'd called it. Steve had gone exploring. After weeks of poking around places he wasn't supposed to be he'd found the clearing, and decided it would be his secret hideout. Over the years since he'd kept the bushes from overtaking the clearing, even after moving to the city. He'd never taken anyone there before. 

They all followed Steve and Billy into the clearing. Several of the kids made exclamations of awe. Steve understood that. It was how he'd reacted himself the first time, and frankly, several times after. Nancy and Jonathan were the last to enter. Everyone found places to sit more of less comfortably. Nancy took some time deciding.   
“If I'd known we'd be sitting on the ground I would have brought a blanket.”  
“What's the matter, _Nancy_ , you afraid your butt's gonna get dirty?” Dustin pulled on her name, like it was an insult.   
“I'm not afraid. A blanket's just more comfortable.” She looked at him like she was daring him to challenge the statement.   
“Whatever you say.” Dustin plonked down next to Will, who tensed up considerably at the proximity.   
Steve thought he'd keep an eye on that. He looked over at Billy and was pretty sure he'd noticed too. Steve looked around at the gathered people, and they'd divided as he'd expected, in a circle that was close but not crowded. Dustin and Will were sitting together on Steve's right, next to them were Nancy and Jonathan, then Jane and Mike, and finally Lucas and Max on Billy's left. Elder and younger Goonies, though even the younger Goonies weren't technically kids anymore. Stuff was removed from backpacks, and Steve saw Dustin, Lucas, and Max had brought beers. Steve wondered if it would be rude to ask for one, but Billy beat him to it.  
“Hey, any of you guys have a beer for me?”  
“Why didn't you bring your own?” said Max  
“Because Steve forgot to stop by a store.” Billy hooked a thumb in Steve's direction.   
“What the fuck, asshole?” Steve elbowed him in the ribs, hard. We didn't even plan to go to one.”  
“Proves my point.” He shrugged in a purposefully annoying way. “You should have remembered we needed beer.”   
“I'm gonna need something else by the time this is over,” Steve mumbled. He wasn't sure if he meant weed, a kiss, or an orgasm. If he could find someone who sold weed he could probably have all three, if his parents weren't home.   
“Don't worry, pretty boy, all your dreams will come true.” Billy smiled at him sweetly.  
Steve scoffed. He didn't trust the sweetness of that smile.   
“I brought extra. I always do.” Dustin threw them each a bottle.  
“He had me carry some too.” Will poked his backpack.   
“Me too,” said Mike.   
“Always prepared.” Dustin beamed. “Did you just call him 'pretty boy'?”  
“I did.” Billy nodded and opened his beer.   
“So the whole boyfriend thing is really true?” Mike raised his eyebrows.   
“It is.” Billy nodded again, and finished off a good third of the beer in one go. Steve was perfectly okay with him answering.   
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Lucas asked Steve, just barely shy of angry. “You know who that is, right?”   
“Absolutely.” Steve nodded and smiled. “The guy who punched my lights out years ago. I also know he's not like that anymore.”   
“How do you know?” Lucas eyed Billy in a decidedly non-friendly fashion.   
“I've spent a lot of time with him, and met his friends.”  
“He has friends?” Mike said with mock surprise.   
“Bite me, kid,” Billy replied amicably.   
“Have you known him all along and just not told us?” Max looked ready to get mad. She dug in her backpack and pulled out a jumbo bag of cookies.   
“No, we met about a year ago.” Steve remembered he had an unopened beer in his hand. It was surprisingly cold. He opened it and had some.   
“You didn't tell us.” Jane gave him a displeased look.   
“We needed to figure shit out first.” Steve hoped she wasn't as displeased as she looked. He was sure she was learning that look from Hopper. “I'm telling you now, because we have.”  
“What have you figured out?” asked Jonathan.   
“That dating each other is really fucking cool.” Billy grinned at him. Steve loved the way he said it.   
“I didn't know you were gay, Steve.” Nancy looked troubled.   
“Neither did I, and I'm not really sure I'm all the way gay, because dating you wasn't fake.” Steve wanted her to understand that. He'd dated her because he was in love. Even now, feeling the way he did about Billy, which was admittedly way stronger than teenage him had been capable of, he was sure he'd been in love with Nancy.   
“Are _you_ all the way gay?” Max asked Billy.   
“Yup.” Billy shrugged. “Doesn't mean I haven't slept with women. I've had more than my share.”  
“Only you would brag about having sex with lots of women while saying you're gay.” Max crossed her arms, after popping a cookie in her mouth; losing some of the effect.   
“I'm just saying, it's not necessarily an either or thing.” Billy shrugged.   
“Yeah, bi is a thing,” Dustin explained, in a slightly snotty tone. “You can like both.”  
“Like you?” Mike raised an eyebrow at Dustin.   
“Anything wrong with that, Wheeler?” Dustin pointed in an accusatory way.   
“Nope, nothing at all. I just don't get why anyone would want to date you at all.” He grinned cheekily, even as Jane elbowed him.   
Dustin flipped him off. “I'll have you know I'm very popular with the ladies.”  
“And the men?” asked Max.  
“Not so much.” Dustin hung his head, but smiled a second later.   
“I guess men are more discerning.” Mike wore that cheeky grin again.   
“Hey!” Max threw a cookie at him.   
He took it and offered it to Jane, who ate it with a smile. 

Billy was surprised at how peaceful this meetup was. Lucas had shown something close to anger, but not full blown anger, but everyone else seemed to have just taken it in stride. He'd expected yelling and cursing, and rude remarks. At the very least some passive aggressive comments. He wasn't complaining about the lack of anger, but it made him a little suspicious. People normally weren't this accepting of things. Henderson being openly bi probably helped with their acceptance of Steve being gay. Their acceptance of Billy being his boyfriend was different. Billy had been nothing but mean to these kids, and here he was getting beers from them. From one of them, at least.   
“How did you meet?” Nancy asked, and Billy's stomach sank.   
He felt Steve tense next to him. They'd known this question would come up, and thought they'd been prepared for it, but Billy sure as fuck didn't feel prepared now.   
“It's a bit of a story,” Steve said carefully.   
“One I'd fucking love to have weed available for,” Billy added. Being high would go a long way to dealing with any embarrassment he might feel at admitting men fucked him for money.   
“I've got weed,” Henderson said excitedly.   
“What?” Steve and Nancy said simultaneously.   
“Oh, don't be such a parent, Steve.” Dustin rolled his eyes. “It's just weed.”  
“You're too young for that shit.”  
“That would carry more weight if I didn't already know you smoked weed when you were my age.” Henderson pointed in the same accusing way he'd pointed at Wheeler. “Don't think people don't talk about King Steve.”   
Steve looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything. Billy had no qualms about accepting weed from this kid. Not when he knew what was coming up.  
“You're a fucking lifesaver, Henderson.”  
“It's Dustin.” He started pointing around the circle. “I'm Dustin, this is Will, that's Mike, Jane, Lucas, Max. Oh, and Nancy and Jonathan.” He'd skipped over them on his way around. Billy wondered if it had been on purpose.   
“Thank you for remembering us,” Nancy said sarcastically.   
“And just so we're clear on this, weed isn't cheap, buddy.”  
“I'll pay you later. Wallet's in the car.” Billy pointed vaguely in the direction of the parking lot.   
“Okay. That's fine.” Dustin dug around in his backpack and pulled out a pipe similar to the one Steve had, only in teal, a bag of weed, and a lighter. He tossed the lot to Billy, who wasted no time getting it ready. Steve glared at him.   
“Look, pretty boy, I'm not gonna come out of this next bit looking stellar. And frankly, neither are you, so let's just get fucking high for a moment. I'd love to be both high and drunk, but one will have to do.”  
Steve shook his head, but took the pipe when Billy offered it. No one talked while they shared the pipe, probably curious as fuck what the story held since they both decided to get high to help tell it. When Billy blew out the remnants of the last hit Dustin quickly crawled over and snatched it all back. He got the pipe ready for himself.   
“Dude, are you really going to smoke that in front of me?” Steve pointed at the pipe.   
“For fuck sake, Steve.” Dustin shook his head in exasperation. “You're already high, so don't even start.”  
“So why exactly is it you need to get high just to tell us how you met?”  
“It's embarrassing,” Billy replied. “And arguably immoral, and definitely illegal.”  
“What the fuck?” Dustin coughed his outburst. “The hell, did you meet in a sex club or something?”  
“It's worse,” Steve admitted.  
“What the hell is worse than a sex club?” asked Lucas.   
“I can give you some examples,” said Billy, “but I won't.”  
They started trying to think of worse things than a sex club, without specifying what kind of worse they were looking for. When it came to certain parts of life worse was a very subjective word.   
“Sadomasochism club?” Mike suggested.   
“Bestiality?” Lucas tried, and was met with groans of disgust. Billy agreed that in terms of worse that one was not subjective. It was objectively worse, in all ways.   
“Lesbian spank porn!” Dustin supplied helpfully.   
Everyone laughed.   
“Oh! Prostitution!” Max shouted eagerly.  
“Bingo,” Billy said and snapped his fingers at her, happy to not have to say the word himself.   
They all went silent. They looked at each other without saying anything, until Dustin whispered “what the fuck” to himself more than to anyone else. He absently handed the pipe over to Will, who took a hit, then coughed quietly. 

This was more or less the response Billy had expected. He might have expected more outrage, but they were still in shock so it might still be to come.   
“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.” Dustin held up both index fingers. “How the hell do you meet someone through prostitution? You just happened across each other while browsing hookers? Like, 'oh hi, Billy, fancy meeting you here' and 'hey, Steve, long time no see, dibs on the blonde'.”   
Billy really liked this kid's mind. He must be actually, honest to god, great at parties. Billy wished he still had the pipe available, because a hit now would be excellent. Instead he settled for draining his beer before diving in head first, into shallow fucking water.   
“He was buying, I was selling.”   
Max audibly gasped. The others looked at each other dumbly, seeming to have lost the ability to speak. Still no moral outrage. He wondered who the outrage would be aimed at, when it came. He guessed probably Steve, since he was the one they knew.   
“Steve, why would you do that?” Nancy spoke quietly, but Billy could hear her opinion of Steve changing as she spoke. He couldn't just sit here and let it happen.   
“Hey, it's not easy being a guy and thinking you might be gay.”  
“You think it's easier for girls?” Max threw in. Billy could see the feminist in her bristling.   
“Yes, I do.”   
“Why?” She crossed her arms.   
“Because lesbian porn is categorized under straight, and gay porn is hidden in the back.” Billy smiled at her confusion.   
“Okay, that's a weird way of putting it, but he has a point.” Dustin pointed to Billy, then Max. “If two girls walk down the street holding hands people mostly just assume they're really good friends. Maybe weird if they're older, but still nothing too major. If two guys walk down the street holding hands they're gonna get the _shit_ kicked out of them.”  
“I'm not saying it's easy for girls,” Billy said. It was far from painless to be a gay girl, and there was no denying it. “I'm saying it's easi _er_. You generally don't risk getting killed if you show too much affection.”  
“Does that really happen?” Jane asked, almost carefully.  
“It does. I've been beat more than once for being a fag. Last time in December.” His hip twinged at the memory. It was healed, but sometimes it complained anyway.   
“That's why I didn't come over for Christmas,” Steve told them. “I couldn't just leave him.”  
Billy put a hand on Steve's knee, to show he still appreciated that he'd done that. Then he did a “give me” motion to Dustin, to see if the kid was bright enough to realize he wanted another beer, and the pipe, and nice enough to provide them. Dustin tossed him a beer, but kept the pipe. He grinned cheekily at Billy, who grinned back. He liked this kid. 

Steve looked at the people around him, and felt a stab of worry that they might think less of him now than they did before today. Nancy in particular. He didn't like how she looked. Dustin scooted over just close enough to hand Steve a beer. Steve took it gratefully, and lit a cigarette to go with it. Billy joined him, and so did Will, Max, and Mike. Steve noticed Nancy looked disapprovingly at Mike. She didn't like that he smoked. Lucas, Nancy, and Jonathan had never smoked. Jane had tried it, but didn't like it. Dustin kept to the weed, but would sometimes bum a few drags off Will. He did so now. Will happily handed his cig over, but Dustin stopped him from lighting a new one. He had a few puffs and then handed it back. Will looked at the cigarette a while before shaking his head almost imperceptibly and smoking more. Steve decided he wanted to ask Will about Dustin later, in private. Billy had half his beer before going back to what they'd been talking about. Steve admired his drive to complete what they'd started.   
“So anyway, as I was going to say, if you don't know what you're doing, and you don't know if it's really true that you're into men, a prostitute is the safer bet.”  
“How so?” asked Jonathan. He came off as interested, not argumentative.   
“There's no work involved in picking someone up. No uncertainty. You don't have to worry about trying to hit on the wrong guy and taking a fist to the face for your troubles.” Billy pointed at his cheekbone. Steve wondered if he knew that part from experience. “Not to mention you don't have to pretend you know what you're doing. If you pick up some guy at a club your pride is going to take a serious hit if you have to admit you've never done it before. Us guys are really fucking stupid that way.”   
There was general agreement from the gathered guys, and some of a different kind from the girls.   
“With a prostitute it's different. They know why you're there, and you know why you're there, and half the time you don't even need to say anything.” He gesticulated mildly as he talked, like he was getting into the telling. “And a whore won't give a shit if you know what you're doing, as long as you don't physically hurt us in the process. And, there are no strings attached. You do your thing and you're gone, and no one expects you to be back.”  
“You'd know, huh?” Mike threw it out as a dig, but it was obvious his heart wasn't in it.   
“The things I don't know about being a whore aren't worth knowing.” Billy shrugged then grinned. “We can be really good at teaching new homos how shit works. And teaching old homos new tricks.”  
Steve elbowed him. Billy seemed to have completely forgotten this was supposed to be an embarrassing conversation. Maybe it was the weed.   
“I can't believe you're a hooker.” Max shook her head in disbelief, while at the same time not disbelieving it.   
“Believe it,” said Billy with a smile.   
Not only was there no trace of Billy's embarrassment, it sounded like he was almost proud of the fact now. Steve shook his head, not in a disapproving way, and rolled with it. If Billy was cool with it he would be too.   
“How'd you end up being one, anyway?” Lucas asked.   
“Drugs and stupidity.” Billy shrugged again.   
“I _knew_ you'd end up a druggie.” Max pointed in triumph.   
“I'm not a druggie. I had a drug habit, is all.” He pointed at her in a correcting manner.   
“Isn't that the same thing?” Mike looked somewhere between skeptical and confused.   
“Spend some time with actual druggies and you'll learn the difference.” Billy looked disgusted. Steve guessed he'd spent time with actual druggies.   
“I'll pass, thanks.” Will joined in for the first time since the conversation started. Dustin grinned at him, like he was happy to hear the guy talk. “There are some things that are nice to never learn.”  
“Good choice.” Billy nodded his approval.   
Billy didn't know what Will meant, but everyone else did. Steve was glad to see Dustin pat Will's knee in comfort. 

Billy noticed a change in the people around him. He was going to ask Steve about it later, but wasn't sure he'd get anything out of him. There was some reason the Goonies were so tightly knit, and Billy probably didn't have a right to know it. If Steve said no he wasn't going to push it. Right now he was marveling at how easily these people had accepted what he'd said, and not made a big issue of it. Not to mention accepted him sitting there with them, and even sharing beer with him. None of them had asked why he'd done what he did back then. No one had yelled at him, or told him what a cruel bastard he was. Steve had told them he'd changed, and everyone had been like “okay, cool”, and moved on. It was funny how in the middle of it all he'd stopped being ashamed, and just ran with it. Steve had been right in everything he'd told him beforehand.   
“I'm wondering about something,” Lucas said.   
“What is it?” Billy asked. He'd sort of thought the conversation was over.   
“How'd you end up together? You said no strings attached. You do your thing and leave.”  
“Well, Captain Unconventional over here likes not doing what he's supposed to.” Billy inclined his head towards Steve. “He came back.”   
“Then what?” asked Will.   
“Then he showed up where I live, and we played basketball, and things just kinda snowballed.” It was an oversimplification, but the details involved a lot of sex, and they didn't need to know them.   
Steve beamed at him. He looked proud as hell of his unconventional behavior. Billy couldn't blame him. He'd landed a boyfriend from it. A boyfriend who was currently completely fucking stupid about him. Billy wanted to kiss him, regardless of who was watching.   
“Well, you two certainly look in love,” Nancy said out of the blue.   
Both Billy and Steve looked at her. She grinned at them, and Jonathan did too.   
“Our Steve, all grown up and in love,” Dustin said, with his hand over his heart, in the tone of a parent proud of his kid.   
Billy's favorite people in Hawkins were now Steve Harrington, Joyce Byers, and Dustin Henderson, in that order. Steve picked a twig off a bush just to throw it at him. Dustin swatted it away while laughing. His laughter was infectious, and soon everyone was smiling or laughing along with him. In the middle of it Max poked Billy's arm gently and offered him a cookie. He thanked her and took two, then handed one to Steve. Billy looked back to her.   
“Hey, Max, does he still have the car?”  
“The Camaro? Yeah, the police found it about a week after you left. I don't know why he keeps it. It just sits in the driveway gathering dust. He just hoses it off sometimes. Doesn't even put it in the garage.” She looked appalled at this behavior.   
“I heard someone say why he keeps it,” said Jonathan.  
“Oh?” Billy wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he'd listen.   
“You'll love it,” Jonathan continued while grinning. “I heard that he tells people his son is missing, not run away, and he can't sell the car, because it would disappoint his son if he's ever found.”   
“Is he really playing the fucking pity card on me running off?” Billy rolled his eyes. So much like his father to work people around him to make himself come off as a good, loving, and caring parent. Maybe because it gave him more room to not be any of those things.   
“Yep,” said Nancy. “I heard it too, from my mom. According to her you're a missing person, and not a runaway.”  
“Right, because nice responsible charming Billy Hargrove couldn't possibly run away from his really wonderful and kind father.” Billy rolled his eyes again. It was an automatic reaction.   
“Maybe you should go claim it,” Lucas suggested. “'Hi, dad, I'm back. I heard you kept the car for me.'”   
“I never want to see that fucker again for as long as I live.” Billy shook his head almost compulsively. “I can live without the car.”   
“We can come with you,” said Will. “Things are usually easier if you don't have to do them alone.”  
The others voiced their assent. Billy was touched by their willingness to support him in something difficult. They didn't even know him. Just a really bad version of him from years ago. He took a moment to enjoy the image of showing up at his dad's doorstep with the Goonies behind him looking tough, like angry menacing ducklings.   
“You know, I bet the pity card is why he keeps it in sight in the driveway instead of putting it in the garage,” Steve said.   
Billy nodded. That was probably accurate. Part of him wanted to very publicly show up to do what Lucas said and be “found”, and claim the car, just to show people how fake the man was. He'd never give Billy the car. Not a chance in hell. 

Billy sighed to himself and lit another cigarette, and lit one for Steve out of habit. He saw a couple of the others give them a look when he handed it over. He grinned.   
“You know what, never mind the damn car. I've been without one so far. I can be without one until I can buy my own. It's fine.”   
“I don't think it's fine.” Max crossed her arms, but it wasn't aimed at anyone present this time.   
“Well, no, but it's fine enough that it's not worth the trouble of trying to get it back. I do not have the energy to look at that man's face for long enough to talk to him.”   
“Can't blame you there.” Max's facial expression said everything he needed to know about how she felt about Neil. “God, he's such a bastard.”  
“Yup.” Billy nodded sagely. “Can we change the subject now?”  
“I have a subject change,” Mike said quickly.  
“Shoot,” Billy said gratefully. Anything was better than talking about his dad.   
“What's it like being a prostitute?”  
Billy had a second where he doubted the veracity of his previous thought, but quickly came to the conclusion even talking about his work in detail was better than talking about his father.   
“It's not awesome.”  
“Then why do you do it?” Jane asked, with a curiosity that looked completely genuine.  
“Because it pays the bills, and it's something I know how to do.” Billy shrugged. At this point there really was nothing more to it. It was practically habit.   
“Would you sell to me?” Mike asked, with a look of challenge on his face.   
“What the fuck?” Steve burst out.   
“If you show up on my street when I'm on the clock, sure.” Billy shrugged again. He liked how ballsy this kid was. “Not now, though. I'm on vacation.”  
“Hey!” Steve turned around enough to poke Billy in the chest.   
“What?” Billy spread his hands to emphasize his point. “If he wanted to buy tools, wouldn't you sell to him?”  
“That's different.” Steve said it with confidence, but Billy saw a flicker of doubt in his eyes.   
“It's work.” Billy knew he had Steve cornered now. He couldn't start implying what Billy did for a living was something other than pure business.   
“God damn it.” Steve hung his head in defeat.   
“You walked into that one.” Billy grinned at him.   
“Screw you, Hargrove.” Steve flipped him the bird, and it made Billy grin more.   
“Ohoho!” Dustin shouted suddenly. “Mike's gonna get it when he gets home.”  
“Mike is gonna get it now.” Jane spoke calmly, but was glaring daggers at him.   
“Hey, no, sorry! Sorry! I was just joking.” Mike waved his arms around in what looked like a mix between panic and trying to placate the lady. “I just wanted to see what he'd say. I'd never do that. Ever. Under any circumstance.”  
Everyone laughed, except Mike and Jane. She kept glaring at him until he apologized a few times more, then she nodded in satisfaction and turned back to Steve and Billy. Mike visibly breathed a sigh of relief. He carefully took her hand, and she let him hold it. Crisis averted. 

The worry Steve had felt earlier had mostly faded away. The little bit that was left was probably there to stay. Just one of those things that refuse to let go of the back of your head, even when you get proof it's not true. He was really proud of his friends. They'd reacted to Billy the way he'd hoped, and then it got better. If he read them correctly they all seemed perfectly willing to have Billy be part of them, via Steve. If they broke up they probably wouldn't keep Billy, but as long as he was Steve's boyfriend he was considered cool. They also didn't have any more questions they felt were pressing enough to bring up now. When Steve asked them to fill him in on stuff he'd missed no one protested or tried to change the subject. They spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening talking about whatever they felt like at the time. Steve got to catch up on the lives of important people in his life, and Billy got to learn a lot about them, and about Steve. They worked their way through their various stashes of beer, sodas, snacks, candy, cigarettes, and weed. Eventually it got too dark to see properly, and only Dustin had thought to bring a flashlight, so they broke it up and went back to the cars. More hugs were exchanged, and this time Jane gave one to Billy. Steve saw the surprise in the other man's face, but he hugged her back easily enough. Nancy followed her lead, and then Dustin, being Dustin, made a brave attempt at pulling Billy into a bear hug. Billy picked him up and more or less literally dumped him next to Will, all without saying a word. Dustin had to grab Will for support to avoid falling over. He grinned shamelessly at Billy, who grinned back. Steve was pretty sure the two of them would get along famously. The others refrained from hugging Billy. Steve didn't hold it against any of them. It was early days. Hell, it was so early, day wasn't even plural. He thought Jane's choice to hug Billy might have a positive impact on how the others viewed him. She was enigmatic, and did her thing, and had grown into someone who was as good a judge of character as Hopper. Steve liked to think she got it from Hopper. Sure, there were some things she sort of just knew, but reading people was a different skill, and Hopper had helped her hone it. They said their good byes, and everyone got in the cars. Steve watched the others drive off with a wave, then got in the car with Billy. He was glad his parents' place was just down the road, because he was not all the way sober anymore. Steve turned to Billy and unceremoniously pulled him into a kiss. If his parents were home he needed to get some making out out of the way now, because he had no intention of coming out to them tonight, and that meant Billy had to sleep in the guest room. They kissed for what felt like a really long time, but stopped before they moved on to less decent activities. They'd promised Hopper, after all. Steve started the car and drove down to the house he'd spent all his teen years in. 

There was no car in the driveway, and the house was dark and empty. Steve was relieved. He unlocked the door and let them inside. Billy immediately went exploring. Steve left him to it. He went to the kitchen to look for something to eat instead. Judging by the fridge, his parents would be gone a while. It was more or less empty. He hoped they would be back before he went home, but also sort of didn't. He wouldn't mind seeing them, even his asshole dad on occasion, but he would be happy to postpone the whole coming out question a while longer. He had a suspicion even his mom would think having a gay son was taking things too far, considering she kept poking at him to meet a nice girl and settle down and have kids. He tried to convince her that having a steady job and an apartment counted as being settled down, but she wouldn't hear it. So yeah, it could get ugly. Billy walked into the kitchen while Steve was checking the freezer, hoping to find a pizza.   
“Dude, I knew you were a preppy boy, but holy shit. This place is like a damn art gallery.”  
“Fuck off, I wasn't a preppy boy. I was a punk.” Steve drew himself up proudly, but then Billy did a hand motion that said Steve was full of shit, and Steve ended up flipping him off instead, before shrugging. “But you're right about the art gallery thing. My dad likes showing off his wealth.”  
“Self-made?”  
“Not really.” Steve made a sound of triumph as he held up a frozen pizza he'd found. “My granddad bought the company when my dad was a kid. My dad just took over. He's done well, but he didn't exactly grow up poor.”  
“Your mom?” Billy hopped up to sit on the counter.   
“She was never poor either.”   
“You had it fucking made, didn't you?” The words might have implied bitterness, but his tone held none at all. It was just a statement.   
“Pretty much.” Steve shrugged and turned on the stove. There was no denying he'd come out ahead in the birth lottery.   
He looked at Billy, sitting on the counter looking delicious, and a little intoxicated. There was another lottery Steve felt like he'd come out ahead in. Billy crooked his finger at him, and Steve didn't need to be told twice. He went over and stood between his knees. Billy leaned down just far enough that their lips met. They kissed a while. Steve ran his hands under Billy's shirt, so he could touch the hot skin on his abdomen and chest. Billy made a sound of pleasure, then pulled back.   
“Steve, I want to fuck in your bed in your old room.”  
“You wanna pretend we're teenagers doing naughty stuff when my parents aren't home?” Steve said it as a joke, but the thought sort of turned him on anyway.   
“Yes.” Billy hopped down off the counter, pushing Steve out of the way in the process. “Lead the way, pretty boy.”  
Steve turned the oven off again, dutifully put the pizza back in the freezer, then took Billy's hand and led him upstairs to his room.

The house he was led through damn near blew Billy's mind. Sure, it wasn't millionaire level fancy, but it was still plenty fancy. It was way beyond anything he'd ever lived in. Their house in Cali hadn't been bad, but didn't even come close to this wannabe mansion. That was a thought he had to share.   
“You know, Steve, this place is pretending to be a mansion the same way your apartment pretends to be a house.”   
Steve scoffed. “This house isn't even that big.”  
“No, but the inside of it is pretending to be.”   
“I can't even argue with that.” Steve turned to Billy just long enough to give him mischievous look and a grin. “My parents have a fireplace in their bedroom.”  
Billy laughed. That fucking proved it. Steve opened a door and did a ta-da motion with his free hand. Billy went in and looked around. It was a bedroom, that looked decidedly not teenagey. He was disappointed by the lack of old posters.   
“You can tell you don't live here anymore.”   
“I took all the cool stuff with me when I moved. Technically it's the guest bedroom now, but I'm the only guest who ever stays here.” Steve shrugged. “Sorry it doesn't look like teenage me lives here still.”  
“It sort of ruins the moment to not have bad posters on the wall, and half done homework on the desk.”   
Steve pulled Billy against him and put his arms over his shoulders.   
“You can close your eyes and pretend. I still have a boombox here with alt rock tapes.” He kissed Billy gently. “Or we can turn off the light and pretend to not be perverted adults, and instead be shy teenagers who have no idea what they're doing.”   
“I'm okay with being perverted adults.” Billy put his hands on Steve's waist. “Wanna go have sex in your parents' bedroom, in front of the fireplace?”  
“Fuck no. I want to have sex in here.” Steve kissed Billy before continuing. “The fantasy gay sex I didn't actually fantasize about as a teen.”  
“Did you really have no idea about the gay thing back then?”  
“I don't know. I sort of had an idea, but I never thought it directly. Like, after the fact I'm seeing it, hindsight and all that, but I didn't then. I think I was attracted to you, but I wasn't consciously aware of it, and I waved it off as just reacting to the rivalry, and you being a complete dick.”  
“So what changed it?” This was something Billy had been curious about for a while. He wasn't going to argue about the dick part. He very much had been. “Oh, and, I was definitely attracted to you. I even jerked off to you a few times.”  
“Wait, really?” Steve's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Billy nodded and smiled. It was completely true. Steve took a few moments to gather himself before going on. “Anyway, I was on a date, with a girl, and it didn't go well. We both agreed on that. She called her brother to come pick her up, and I waited with her, and when he showed up my first thought was 'he's prettier than her, I should have gone on a date with him instead', and it flared up all the doubt I might have ever had about my sexual preference, and I wasn't able to let it go. I agonized over it for fucking years. And I could never quite figure out if I was really into men or not. I mean, I did kind of figure it out, but I didn't want that to be the answer. Being gay is complicated. Anyway, the end result was finding you on the street.”  
“Years?” This time it was Billy's eyebrows that moved.   
“I'm not a bright man.” Steve shrugged. It was an awkward movement, considering his arms were still on Billy's shoulders.   
“I think you've been taught that normal people aren't gay. And that it's something only weirdos choose to be.” Billy thought people who thought it was a choice were a special kind of stupid. He had met plenty of people slow on the uptake in his time, though. Most of them were actually bi, and were just slow to catch onto the homosexual part of it. “Also, you're definitely not all the way gay, and that would make it easier to ignore those thoughts and urges. Or just not notice, apparently.”   
“Definitely?” Steve smiled at that.   
“Definitely.” Billy thought Steve was probably closer to gay than plain bi, but there was still something there that was at least occasionally attracted to women. He was okay with this.   
“I'm gay enough to want to bury my cock in you right now.” The expression on Steve's face changed, and the look in his eyes went straight to Billy's dick.   
“That's more than enough gay for me.” Billy kissed him. “Why haven't we started yet?”  
“I wasn't the one who started asking questions.” Steve moved his arms enough that he could run his thumbs over Billy's collarbones.   
“I'm done asking. Promise.”  
“Good.” His hands slid over Billy's chest.   
“Just one more question and then I'm done.” Billy slid his hands down to Steve's ass, just holding them there.   
“Promise, huh?” Steve raised an eyebrow, while his hands made their way to Billy's hips. “What is it?”  
“Do you have the condoms and lube on you or are they in one of the bags downstairs?”   
“Fuck.” Steve closed his eyes and sighed. Billy smiled. He loved how expressive Steve could be.   
“If you go down to get them I'll be naked on the bed by the time you get back.” Billy kneaded Steve's ass gently.   
“That's tempting, but undressing you myself is also tempting.” Steve bit his bottom lip and made a show of thinking, like he was trying to decide something important.   
“So should I go get them?” Billy raised an eyebrow.   
“No, I'll do it. You already naked is more tempting right now.” Steve let go of Billy, but swatted him on the ass before leaving the room. “So hop to it, cowboy.”   
Billy laughed. This guy was fucking amazing. 

They'd left the bags not far from the front door. Steve wasted no time rummaging through his own bag until he found what he was looking for. He left something of a mess beside it, but did not take the time to pick up after himself. He had more important things to do. He hurried back up the stairs and into the room, and got damn near instantly hard at the sight that greeted him. Billy was lounging against the headboard, with his hands behind his neck. He was completely naked, and his legs were spread and lifted enough that Steve could see everything he wanted.   
“Hey there, pretty boy,” Billy said in a voice dripping of promised sex. “Did you find what you were looking for?”   
Steve just nodded dumbly and walked over to the bed; shedding clothes as he went. By the time he crawled onto the bed next to Billy he only had socks on. He made short work of them. Sex with socks on was stupid, and sex was most certainly going to happen in the next few minutes. Very few, if Steve had any say in the matter. He moved Billy's legs just enough that he could straddle his thighs. Billy immediately pulled him in for a kiss. Several kisses, tongues and lips sliding against each other, blending until it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. Steve moved his hips, letting their cocks grind together. Billy pushed against him. They moved as one, like they were continuing where they had left off in the car when they'd been interrupted. It felt awesome, but Steve didn't lose sight of what he really wanted. He wanted to _have_ Billy, here and now, on this bed. He got off him, with only small complaints, from both the other man and his own cock. He sat between his legs instead. He didn't pull to get him to lie down. Instead he crowded him up against the headboard. They moved the pillows and themselves around, until Billy was sitting in Steve's lap.   
“I have another question for you, pretty boy,” Billy said as he wrapped his arms around Steve's shoulders.  
“What is it now?” Steve was highly suspicious of this question. Something was up.   
“How are you going to get a condom on in his position?”  
“Fuck you, asshole.” Steve inwardly cursed his own eagerness. The guy had a point.   
Billy suddenly pushed Steve hard enough to make him fall on his back.   
“What the fuck, dude?” Steve unwound his legs from under himself and used them to push away from the headboard so he ended up lying more or less flat. The covers bunched up around him.   
“You'll love it.” Billy picked up a condom and unwrapped it. Then he positioned himself to give a blowjob, put the condom in his mouth, and gaped over Steve's cock.   
Steve watched entranced as Billy moved his head up and down, slowly rolling the condom on using nothing but his mouth. It felt fucking incredible. When he was done, Billy sat up and licked his lips.   
“Next time I'm doing that with one of the flavored fuckers.” He grimaced briefly. “Normal condoms don't taste great.”   
“Come here, I'll kiss the taste away for you.” Steve held out his arms.   
Billy took a moment to add lube, then straddled Steve and leaned down for the offered kiss. In the middle of it he lowered himself onto Steve's cock. 

The surprised moan that came out of Steve told Billy he had made the right move. He moaned too. Being fucked by Steve felt so damn good, even when he did the fucking himself. Billy sat up and wiggled his ass until he had as much of Steve's dick inside him as he could reasonably get. Steve looked up at him with glazed eyes. He ran his hands up Billy's thighs until he had hold of his hips. He said nothing. Billy grinned down at him and started moving. He slowly fucked himself with Steve's dick, enjoying every moment of it. The sounds coming out of him, combined with his movements, clearly told him Steve was enjoying every moment too. Billy leaned down and kissed him. Steve put his arms found Billy's back and held him tight. It make moving more difficult, but at the same time it made everything better. Every time Billy sat down Steve pushed up, driving even deeper into him, and increasing the speed. Billy was game. He managed to get Steve to let go enough that he could sit up, then he braced his hands on Steve's chest and used the leverage to move both faster and further. Now Steve's dick almost pulled all the way out of him before he pushed back down onto it. He loved the long pull of it. Feeling the friction as the dick slid in and out; pushing up against his prostate every time. Letting himself enjoy how weak he was to having his prostate played with had been fucking life altering. Sex was different now that he wasn't trying to deny how much he liked it. Better. Fucking mind blowing. But it wasn't something he wished he'd done earlier. It couldn't have happened another time or with another person. It had to be Steve, and it had to be him when the time was right. When the trust was there. Steve had found that time, and it had been perfect. Now was shaping up to be pretty fucking perfect too. Steve took hold of Billy's dick. He didn't jerk it. Just held it tight while Billy moved. It would have been too tight, if Billy wasn't into that. He knew Steve had figured it out, even though they hadn't talked about it. He was okay with this. Very okay, if Steve kept doing what he was doing. Billy moved faster. The combined pleasure of Steve's dick and hand making him helpless not to. He needed to come. He tightened the muscles surrounding Steve's dick, trying to make him come first, or at least with him. Steve moaned breathlessly. He tightened his hold on Billy's hip and pulled him down on every thrust he made up into Billy's body. Billy took hold of his own dick and moved Steve's hand to his other hip. He shifted his position to give Steve the most room to move, and held still.   
“Fuck me,” Billy panted. “Hard.”   
Steve immediately took control of the situation, and pumped into Billy with abandon. If it was awkward to thrust upwards he made no sign of it. Billy's orgasm rushed towards him. He jerked himself off as he was being pounded into, and it already had him on the edge. The familiar coil of tension tightened between his legs, ready to snap.   
“Fuck,” Steve panted between moans. “Come for me, Billy. Come _on_ me.”  
Oh yeah, that did it. Billy did as he was told, and came all over Steve's chest. Somewhere in the middle of it he was distantly aware of Steve coming too. He felt the pulse of it between his legs and inside. He fucking loved it when they came together. He wanted to lie down on Steve, but moved to lie next to him instead. He made abstract patterns with a finger in the come all over Steve's chest. When he had his breathing and sense back under control Steve chuckled.   
“This isn't what I was expecting when I called you cowboy. Maybe I should call you that more often.”  
“Or find another nickname I can bend into something perverted.” He kissed Steve's shoulder for no good reason. The guy was turning him weird.   
“Which one will get me more blowjobs?” Steve lifted his head just long enough to grin at Billy.   
“You really like the blowjobs, don't you?”  
“You just put a condom on me with your mouth. You give really fucking good blowjobs.” He sounded like he was in awe. Maybe he was.   
Billy wiped the semen off his finger on Steve's stomach. He knew he gave good blowjobs, but he felt flattered every time Steve said it nonetheless. Steve was always open with his praise, and it felt good to hear it. Billy wanted to do that too, but he had trouble getting the words out most of the time. When he was growing up he'd learned much more about criticism than about praise, and shit like that got stuck. But he didn't want to think about that right now.  
“Steve?”  
“Yeah?” Steve sighed contentedly.   
“You're amazing.”  
“Thanks. So are you.” He looked down at himself. “Even when you've smeared spunk all over my chest.”  
Billy chuckled. “Point me in the direction of a bathroom and I'll get you something to clean you up.”  
Steve pointed helpfully, but made no attempt to move anything other than his arm. Billy climbed over him to get up, even though he didn't have to. He gave Steve a quick kiss as he passed. Steve sighed contentedly. Billy smiled. This day had been fucking awesome. 

Steve stared up at the ceiling he'd stared up at hundreds of times as a teenager. He remembered thinking he should put a poster up there, but he'd never been able to decide what he'd be willing to look at that often. Now the choice would be easy. A picture of Billy. Nancy had lost her virginity in here, under the same ceiling. Steve had lost his a couple of girlfriends earlier, in the same place. This new memory with Billy was a good addition to fun times had here. It was up there as the best, partially because of how he felt about the guy. There was being in love, being stupidly and helplessly in love, and then there was where his feelings for Billy were going. He didn't know what to do about it. He didn't want to scare him off. Billy was tough and badass on a general basis, but when it came to some things he wasn't. He was really careful about his emotions, and quick to think he shouldn't be allowed to feel some things. Steve wanted him to feel those things, because he suspected they were good things. Billy didn't always know what to do about good, but he'd learn eventually. He just needed to be exposed to enough of it. Steve intended to expose him to a lot of it, and would be exposed to a lot of it himself in the process. Like tonight. Hell, all day. Billy came back into the room, buck naked with a towel in his hand. Steve held out his arms.   
“I want a kiss before the towel. It's more important.”  
Billy sat on the bed next to him and obliged. He started to clean Steve's chest while their lips were still touching. These were priorities Steve could get behind. When Billy sat up he was smiling mischievously.   
“So, Captain Neat, are we going to clean shit up tonight, or are we just going to sleep and deal with it in the morning?”  
“Captain Neat, my ass.” Steve felt like he'd just been issued a challenge. “We're dealing with it in the morning. Or like, noon.”   
“Sounds good to me.”  
The shuffled around until they were both under the covers, in the right direction relative to the headboard. Billy snuggled up close to him and Steve put an arm around him. God, this felt so damn nice. Comfortable in a way that went beyond physical comfort. Steve closed his eyes, content and happy. This day had been fucking awesome.


	16. Chapter 16

The next day they just plain hung out. They left Steve's car at a repair shop, so it could get fixed over the next few days, and got a cheap rental to use during the stay. Then they went to the arcade, and felt horribly old when faced with all the little kids milling around, yelling at the machines. They met the kids for pancakes and milkshakes. Something that ended up taking hours, and many pancakes and cups of coffee. Billy was learning why Steve liked spending time with these kids. They were fun. They planned the dinner Billy was going to make, and they all agreed to help him put it together. That was going to be a mess, but he was looking forward to it anyway. As long as Joyce Byers was there. He had a feeling she could keep the crazies in line, but more than that she was fun to be around too. They ran into no one they'd gone to school with, which was a small miracle, considering the size of Hawkins. In the evening they went out for a couple of beers. Billy knew it was too much to ask for for a place like Hawkins to have a gay bar, but he would have loved to be somewhere he could be more casual about how he felt about Steve. How he felt about him kept getting more intense, and serious, and he didn't really know what to do about it. He wanted to show him, to let him know, but didn't want to end up freaking him out or anything. When they got back to the house it was still empty. No sign of parental units anywhere. Billy wondered if he'd actually get to meet them this trip, and if he'd actually mind if he didn't. He wasn't sure if Steve was disappointed or relieved they weren't home yet. Maybe a mix of both. They'd gone grocery shopping earlier, so Billy decided some food might be in order. He went to the kitchen to see what he could put together. Steve followed along and hopped onto the counter to watch. After some deliberation Billy decided to go with the good old American favorite mac and cheese. It was simple and quick, and left time to do naughty stuff after. The good thing about Steve's parents not being there was that they had ample opportunity to have sex.   
“Hey, Steve.”  
“Hm?” Steve was examining the box of macaroni absently.   
“Want to have sex in the pool after eating?” Billy took it from him, and handed him the pack of cheese instead. He was aware that might be a bad trade, but he needed the macaroni.   
“Won't we get a cramp?” Steve promptly opened the cheese and started nibbling on it.   
“Our muscles will be too busy to cramp.” Billy quickly took the cheese back. Steve grinned him, showing he'd done it just because he knew Billy would protest.   
“I have a better idea.” Steve hopped down from the counter.   
“What's that?”  
“My parents installed an outdoor hot tub last year.” Steve hooked a thumb in the general direction of the back of the house.   
“Holy shit, that sounds awesome.” Billy couldn't remember the last time he'd been in a hot tub, and sex in a hot tub sounded spectacular.   
“I'm gonna go see if I can fire it up.”  
“Sweet.”   
Steve gave him a quick kiss before leaving the room. Billy fucking loved it when he did things like that. That easy affection that said so much, and meant even more. The kind of affection that made Billy think that living with Steve would be absolutely fucking amazing. Because it would be so much more than easily available sex. It would be random kisses and vegging on the couch together, and arguing about whose turn it was to do the dishes or the laundry, and falling asleep like they did last night. Things Billy didn't think he'd be interested in, until Steve showed back up in his life and changed everything. The most lovable dork ever. Billy never would have been able to guess he was a dork before he got to know him as an adult. He'd always come off as tough and confident, sometimes even cold. He and Billy had faced off many times, and Steve had never backed down. Then Billy had gotten to know him again properly this time, and he did stuff like sit on the kitchen counter and eat cheese just to be a brat, and make bets about making cheesecake. Billy wondered if he'd always been like that, or if it was a recent development. He'd have to ask him about it. After dinner. And after being indecent in the hot tub, providing Steve got it running. 

When he got back to the kitchen Steve was humming to himself. The hot tub was working fine, full of water, and quickly heating up. Score. The food was ready too, which was a freaking three pointer as far as he was concerned.   
“It's gonna take a while to heat up, so let's watch something while we eat. They have a huge TV.”  
“I saw. I had a look around the living room.” Billy grinned while filling two plates too full.   
“See anything other neat?”   
“I saw there might not be any movies we like in there.” Billy offered him one of the plates and the choice between beer and soda.   
“That's because my mom hides her movies. She doesn't want people to know her guilty pleasure.” Steve took the plate and a soda.   
“And what's that?” Billy took his plate and a beer and followed Steve.  
“Horror movies.” Steve grinned. His mom was a sucker for scary flicks, but she didn't think it was appropriate for a lady in her position to be that. He'd never been able to get out of her just what position she was in that made it not okay.   
“Really?”  
“Really. She loves 70's horror in particular. There's some good stuff from then.”  
“Tell me about it.” Billy sat down on the couch with plate in hand. He looked unconcerned by the possibility of spilling any from the over-heaped plate. “She wouldn't happen to have The Sentinel, would she? It's been a long time since I saw it, and I like religious horror.” He quickly cut off any questions Steve might have with a hand in the air. “Don't ask why. I don't know.”  
“I've watched it, so I'm pretty sure she does.” Steve put his plate down on the coffee table and went to a cupboard near the TV. “I might have watched it somewhere else, but it's unlikely. I'm not big on horror. I mean, they're okay, but it's not something I choose to watch on my own.” Steve just didn't find horror movies to be particularly scary, which sort of ruined the fun of them. He used to be scared of them, but then some insanely scary shit had happened directly in his life, and that was a good way to get desensitized to fake scary.   
“I'm not actually surprised by that. You strike me as more of an action and comedy type of person.” He took Steve's example and put the plate on the table too.   
“I love me a good comedy.” Steve paused his search just to he could point at Billy accusingly. “And that so-called guess there is cheating. You've seen my movie shelf.”  
Billy chuckled. It was obvious that was exactly why he'd made the guess, and he wasn't ashamed of the fact.   
“You're in luck, hot stuff.” Steve held up the movie in question, and got a cheer from Billy as a response. It was cute.   
He put the movie in the player and got ready to find out if Billy liked horror because they scared him. 

The movie was just as good as Billy remembered. It was one of his favorites, but he didn't own it. The first time he'd watched it it had scared him. It was a well kept secret that he did actually get scared sometimes when watching scary shit. He wouldn't even admit that to Steve yet. He didn't get scared of just anything. The movie had to be actually good, and know how to built it up. Not a lot of movies were able to do that. Atmosphere was fucking essential to a good horror. The Sentinel had all the right things. When the movie was over Billy took the plates and bottles back to the kitchen, while Steve went out to check on the hot tub. He came back, towels in hand, and told Billy it was suitable to do dirty things in. Billy followed him out. The hot tub wasn't large, but it looked well built, with a wooden frame wide enough to sit on. Steam was coming off it and floating into the cold night air. There were stylish lamps around it that lit everything in a warm glow. It looked fancy as fuck. Steve put the towels down on the frame. They didn't mess around getting their clothes off. Winter was over, but summer was still far off and it was seriously cold outside. Being naked before getting in the water felt like winter was no more than _technically_ over. Billy practically jumped into the water to get away from it. The difference in temperature was crazy. Steve watched him, shivering.   
“Pretty boy, your dick's gonna shrink into oblivion if you stand out in the cold like that, and I have plans for it, so get in here.”   
Steve stepped into the hot tub slowly. Even with the cold he moved carefully and gracefully into the water; showing off his body. If his plan was to get Billy excited and hard it was fucking working. Before he even got fully into the water Billy was on him. He pulled him into a seated position, straddled him, and locked their lips together. Steve made a surprised sound, but instantly kissed back. He ran his hands down Billy's spine to his buttocks and squeezed hard. Billy tightened his muscles and groaned, before putting his hand between their bodies to grab Steve's dick. He was as hard as Billy was. He spent a while just slowly jerking Steve off while they kissed, but soon the cold air on his exposed shoulders and back gave him goosebumps. He got off the other man and pulled him with him into the deeper part of the tub instead. They only barely had enough room there when they were crowded up against one another. This was not something Billy minded. They immediately had their hands all over each other, and their lips locked together. 

Steve had never been naked in a hot tub before. The water felt extra hot against his cock and balls, in a way that was more intense than if he'd been wearing any clothes over them. Even in the steaming water Billy's hands felt hot against his skin. They were in constant motion, like they were trying to touch all of him. Steve found himself doing the same. Touching Billy felt so good. The broad shoulders and chest, the hard muscles moving under his skin. He was so male, and so gorgeous. Being with Billy like this made Steve wonder how he could have ever thought he was straight. It just felt so natural to be turned on by the other man, and so fucking easy. God, he couldn't even help himself. He moved his hand down to grip Billy's cock. Also very male, and impossible to not get turned on by. Billy made sounds of pleasure that were absorbed by the kiss they were still engaged in. Steve didn't want his lips to leave Billy's, or their tongues to stop sliding against each other. The taste of Billy was addicting. As was the feel of him. Hell, the whole goddamn man. And Steve was clearly an addict. He didn't want it any other way. Billy's hand joined Steve's and they touched each other together. What Steve had expected to be dirty play in the hot tub was turning intimate. Being this close was more important that getting off. Getting off was going to happen, but it was secondary to touching Billy, enjoying him, feeling things for him that Steve didn't have a word for yet. No, he did have a word, but he was careful to even think it, and the time definitely wasn't right to try to use it. In fact, thinking about it made him nervous, so he switched gears and moved his second hand down between Billy's legs. Billy moved to give Steve's hand more room. Steve wondered if he was even aware he was doing it. It became difficult to maintain the kiss, so Steve moved to kiss Billy's neck instead. He didn't suck marks on it, but he really wanted to. He wanted to leave hickey all over him. Steve was here. Steve claimed this as his own. He slipped his hand down under Billy's testicles, giving them a light squeeze as he passed, and found the hole behind them. He didn't push in. Instead he spread his fingers out to let the hot water fully reach it. Billy's breath hitched. Steve smiled to himself. He loved that sound, and loved what it meant. 

Who knew fooling around in a hot tub could be this great? They hadn't even done anything yet and Billy was ready to come. He hadn't realized how hot the water was until it reached a part of him it hadn't reached before. It felt shocking and great at the same time. Steve was getting more pushy, more eager to get this show on the road. Billy really fucking enjoyed the closeness that was between them right now, but he agreed it was getting time to get off. Steve's fingers doing interesting things between Billy's legs was proving that. He hadn't pushed a finger in yet, but he was getting close to. Billy wanted him to, but he wanted to do something else more. He pushed Steve gently until he sat down on the underwater bench again. Steve gave him a puzzled look. Billy grinned at him.   
“Did you know I can hold my breath for a really long time?” he asked, breathing deep to stock up on oxygen, before he dipped his head under the surface and wrapped his lips around Steve's dick.   
It wasn't the kind of hot tub that had jets of water, but the water still made enough sound in Billy's ears that he couldn't hear Steve's reaction. He did, however, notice how the other man's whole body tensed up. Billy knew he had to come up for air eventually, but he could hold his breath for over a minute, so he had some time before that. It was an interesting feeling, to be sucking dick without breathing. He was used to breathing through his nose when he did this, but now he couldn't draw any breath, or he'd choke, so he had to override the urge. Knowing he couldn't breathe while doing this actually turned him on. It didn't add a lot to his arousal, but it did add some. He couldn't hum like he enjoyed doing for the vibrations either. He had to rely entirely on his tongue, and the suction from a mouth he had to keep firmly around the flesh in it, to avoid water intruding. His lungs started complaining, but he pushed on. He could do longer. He sucked harder and faster, trying to ramp Steve's pleasure up before he had to breathe again. Steve was gently pushing up against Billy's sucking. Billy wondered if he knew he was doing it. His lungs screamed at him, so he let go and surfaced for air. Steve was panting and looking down at him.   
“Holy shit, that was a long time,” he said breathlessly.   
“And I'm not done yet.” Billy licked his lips, took some deep breaths, and went back under.   
As soon as Billy sucked on Steve's dick again he felt hands in his hair. He knew Steve wouldn't hold him under, but it was interesting to imagine it happening. Being forced past his limit. A part of him suspected he'd like it, but he didn't want to listen to it. There was a limit to how much of a submissive he was willing to be. There was also a limit to how much Steve was willing to dominate him, and Billy suspected Steve's limit would be hit before his own. He applied pressure on the back of Steve's dick with his tongue. Then he decided to up the ante. He removed his hands from Steve's body and relied purely on his mouth. He didn't leave his hands idle. He touched himself. He took hold of his own dick with one hand, and moved the other one further, so he could push a finger inside himself. He wanted to moan, but couldn't. Moaning required air, and even though his lungs already wanted it he wasn't ready to let go yet. The heat surrounding his entire body put another layer onto the pleasure he was feeling. He went up for air again, panting. He was still working on himself, getting closer to coming.   
“I need you to come for me, pretty boy. Come in my mouth. Down my throat. Let me taste it.”  
Steve moaned incoherently, but nodded. Billy grinned, feeling hotter than what the water caused. He ducked down again. Getting the dick back into his mouth without using his hands was only a small challenge; it was so hard. He pushed another finger inside himself, and some of the water hit further in, the heat of it a new shock to his system. It felt fucking amazing, and he crept that much closer to coming. He'd come when Steve came into his mouth. He just knew it. He just needed to get close enough to get pushed over the edge. It wasn't hard to get there. Jerking off with one hand, fucking himself with the other, sucking on a dick, and not being able to draw even a breath to moan with, all added together. He'd come before Steve at his rate. He slowed his hands, with effort. He was so close to coming it hurt. But he needed Steve to come. He deep throated Steve over and over, swallowing around the head as insistently as he could. It worked. He felt the familiar pulse of Steve pumping his load into him. He moved back so he could get it in his mouth. He stopped holding back and fucked himself faster with his fingers. Before Steve was even done coming Billy joined him. He rushed his head above water so he could finally moan his pleasure out. He collapsed against Steve's chest and rode out his orgasm with his face pressed against the other man's overheated skin. His fingers slipped out, and the hand on his dick let go so it could support him and pull him further up Steve's body. Steve took hold of him and helped. When Billy was far enough up they kissed. Billy knew Steve could taste himself, and also knew he liked it. Billy straddled him again and Steve pulled him close. Billy felt like he could sit like this for hours, but never got the chance. 

The patio door burst open with a bang. They both jerked in surprise and broke apart.   
“What the hell is going on here?”  
Steve's heart sank and he immediately wanted to puke. It was his father. Right behind him stood his mother. God knew how much they'd seen, but at the very least they'd seen them kissing. The cat was well and truly out of the bag, and it would be impossible to put it back in there. He was fucked. Both his parents looked more outraged than he'd ever seen them. His father was clearly furious, and his mom was crying. This was bad. This was really fucking bad. A hand crept into his under the water; Billy telling him he was there and had his back. God, that helped. He wouldn't be able to find a way to explain to Billy just how much that move was appreciated, and needed. Even with Billy's support Steve was frozen. He couldn't find words, or the strength to move.   
“Get out of that water right now!” his dad shouted. His face was red with fury.   
Steve wasn't even remotely inclined to exit the water with his parents watching. His parends solved the dilemma for him by going back inside; his father slamming the door shut as hard as he'd slammed it open. Steve leaned against Billy and wanted to cry.   
“This is so fucking bad, Billy.”  
“Yeah, I know.” He squeezed Steve's hand. “We'll deal with it. Just don't forget I'm here. You're not doing it alone.”   
Steve figured his parents had seen enough that pretending distance didn't matter. He kissed Billy, gently, before moving to get out of the tub.   
“Thank you.” He hurried to wipe himself off with the towel before getting dressed. He didn't even feel the cold on his skin, because he was too cold on the inside.   
Billy was no slower to get dressed, and soon they were ready to go back inside. What they met there was Steve's father with a nearly full glass of alcohol in his hand, and his mother still crying. His father turned to him with eyes that were stone cold.   
“Get out of my house.”   
“Dad...” Steve tried the word, with little hope it would do anything.   
“No. Get out.” There was no emotion in his voice, and it scared Steve more than any yelling would have.   
“Mom,” he said with slightly more strength than he'd been able to with his father.   
She cried harder and ignored him.   
“We have things upstairs,” Billy said, sounding in control.   
“I don't give a damn. Get out.”  
Billy took Steve's hand in front of them and gently pulled him with him to the stairs, so they could get their things regardless of how fast Steve's dad wanted them out. He spoke low when they reached the bedroom.   
“Look, talking to them now isn't going to do shit. I know this sucks. Sucks doesn't even half cover it, but they need time to process.”  
“What do we do?” Steve was going numb. It was like his system had overloaded and he was left with short circuits and random useless sparks.   
“I know where to go.” Billy did the packing, while Steve just stood there.   
“Where?” Steve couldn't think of anything other than the motel. It shouldn't be too late to go there.   
“Let's just get our things, and if there's anything else in the room you want to take with you, grab that too.”   
“You think it's that bad?”  
“I don't know. I don't know your parents.” He turned to Steve and looked him in the eyes. “But from what you've told me of your mom she just needs time. We just don't know how much.”  
“Days?”  
“Frankly, it might be months.”  
“Fuck.” There was nothing more to say about it. Months without knowing if his mom would ever want to talk to him again sounded fucking horrible. They didn't speak often in general, but the not knowing was going to gnaw at him. It was going to take fucking chunks out of him.   
“Yeah.” Billy left the room and came back with a towel.   
He dried Steve's dripping hair with it, then his own. He tossed the towel on the bed, and an absurd part of Steve wanted to tell him to go hang it up somewhere more sensible. He touched Steve's cheek softly. Steve leaned into it, needing whatever comfort he could find right now.   
“You're gonna be okay, pretty boy. I promise.” Billy kissed him so softly their lips barely touched.   
Steve didn't believe him, but he appreciated it nonetheless. 

They got their bags sorted and zipped up. Steve didn't take anything else. There was nothing he wanted. Billy took his hand again as they walked down the stairs. Steve's father showed up right before they left the house.   
“And don't come back. Ever.”  
“Don't say anything you'll regret,” Billy told him with power behind his words. He wasn't being meek, and even in his dazed state Steve found a lot of respect for it, and gratitude.   
“I won't regret this.”  
“You will.”  
“What the hell makes you think that?” Even without looking at him Steve could hear anger creep into his father's voice. He wasn't used to being challenged.   
“You raised Steve, and if he turned out as fucking amazing as he is, there's got to be something in you that's good too.” Billy maneuvered Steve out the door and over to the car, without saying anything more. It was almost parked in, but there was just enough room to get out.   
Billy put Steve in the passenger seat.   
“No offense, buddy, but I don't think you're in any state to drive.”  
“I don't think so either.” Steve reached for the pack of cigarettes he'd put in the glove box and lit two with shaky hands. He handed one to Billy.   
Billy started the car and quickly left the street behind. He'd said he knew where to go, but Steve had no idea what he had in mind. The motel maybe. Steve was too fucked up to think straight right now. His parents' reaction had been as bad as the worst case scenario Steve had imagined when he didn't want to tell them. Maybe even worse. His father may have literally just disowned him. Tears stung in his eyes, and he didn't even look to see where they were going. He smoked and looked at his hands. He didn't even know how much time had passed when the car came to a halt. He looked up to see where they were. Billy had taken them straight to Hopper's house and, probably more importantly, Joyce Byers. 

Before leaving the car Billy looked over at Steve. He looked lost, and desperately hurt. Billy just wanted to wrap his arms around him, and hold him, and tell him it was going to be okay until he believed it, even if he didn't know it would be. Instead he'd taken him to his other family in Hawkins. Something told Billy Joyce was somehow uniquely qualified to fix whatever was broken inside Steve right now. Billy would help, of course, but he had a feeling she would actually know what to do about it. So, he coaxed Steve out of the car and walked them both to the front door, not letting go of Steve's hand even when they reached the door. Steve was so out of it now he was just letting himself be moved around without saying anything. Billy knew it was late and that probably everyone was asleep, or at least the adults, but waiting wasn't an option. He rang the doorbell. They waited, and Billy resisted the urge to ring again. He was almost positive Hopper would only need one ring. He was a cop. Soon after his thoughts were verified, because the front door was opened by the man in question. He was fully dressed, but looked just groggy enough that Billy thought he'd been asleep when he rang.   
“What the hell are you doing here at this hour?”  
“Long bad story.” Billy didn't beat around the bush, and let polite wait for another time. “Can we come in?”  
“Bad?”  
“Bad.” Billy inclined his head very slightly toward Steve. Hopper looked at him and immediately stepped back to let them in.   
“What's going on?” Hopper looked worriedly at Steve, who still hadn't said a word.   
“His parents didn't take well to finding out about us.” Billy took off his shoes and jacket, and was relieved to see Steve did the same without prompting. So, not completely out of it. He just wasn't talking. “Can you wake Joyce? I know it's late, but I think she's needed.”  
“I think you're right. Go wait in the living room.” He pointed in the general direction of the room.   
Billy took Steve with him that way, but Steve stopped them.   
“No, not the living room. I want to go to the kitchen.”  
“Why there?” Billy was really glad to hear Steve talk and want something. The car ride over had made him worse. Billy regretted not talking to him during the drive, seeing how he'd come out of the silence.   
“Because that's the room where all the living happens. The living room is just for TV and stuff.”   
It made sense, so they went to the kitchen. Billy parked Steve at the table and started coffee brewing. 

It didn't take long before Joyce rushed into the room. She didn't say anything. She just gathered Steve into a hug and held him tight. He was sitting, so in spite of her small size she was able to wrap her arms around his shoulders and the back of his head. She kissed the top of his head. Billy watched as Steve let go all the pent up fear and worry and cried against her chest. Billy wanted to be the one to do that for him, but recognized that right now she was a much better choice, and that she was more suited to give Steve what he needed. She may not have started out as his family, but she clearly was now. It was part of whatever had happened that made Steve friends with a bunch of kids. Billy might never find out what that was, and right now he didn't care. Hopper came in after her and stood silently in the doorway. When the coffee was finished Billy poured four cups and distributed them. Steve was getting himself back under control, but Joyce still held him a while longer. Hopper turned to Billy.   
“So what happened?”  
“We went to a bar tonight, and when we got back his parents still weren't home. We figured they wouldn't come home until the next day at the earliest, since it was so late.” After brief consideration Billy opted for complete truth. “So we decided to fool around in the hot tub out back.”  
“Of course you did.”  
“Jim, don't start,” Joyce said in a tone of voice only mothers seemed to know. “They're young, and in love, and that's what people do. He said they weren't home.”  
“Okay. Sorry.” He held up the hand not holding the coffee Billy had given him. “I take it they came back at an awkward time.”  
Steve pulled away from Joyce and picked up his coffee. He looked at it instead of drinking it, but he was clearly more himself now.   
“Not as awkward as it could have been, but yeah, it was bad.” Billy said and rubbed his face, remembering their reaction. “They didn't take it well. We were told to leave in no uncertain terms. They wouldn't even talk to him. Barely even let us get our bags.”  
“Oh, you poor thing.” Joyce petted Steve's hair.  
“All my mom did was cry,” Steve said quietly. “My dad looked like he was disgusted by even looking at me.”   
“I'm sorry that happened to you, Steve.” Joyce had a hand on his shoulder. She'd been in physical contact with him since she entered the room.   
“Yeah, that's rough, kid.” Hopper looked genuinely sorry Steve had had such a bad experience.   
It was calming to see how much these people cared about Steve. He'd been right to come here. He brought his coffee with him and sat down across from Steve. He reached out and took his hand. Steve let it be taken, and looked at Billy. There was no distance in his eyes. He was hurt, but he was back.   
“I'm sorry I couldn't be more help,” Billy said quietly.  
“What are you talking about, you idiot? You did everything right.” He squeezed Billy's hand.   
“If I'd done everything right you wouldn't have zoned out like you did in the car.”  
“I think I needed to zone out for a while. Kept me from completely losing my shit.”  
Joyce sat down next to Steve. She wasn't in physical contact now, but was close enough that it only required reaching out to do it.   
“You can stay here until you go back to the city. You can stay in my room.”  
“Where will you sleep?”  
“Oh, I'll just sleep with Jim in his bed. It's fine.”  
“Wait. What?” Hopper took a step towards them from where he had been standing against the wall the whole time.   
“What's the matter, Jim? Afraid you'll get cooties on you?”  
Billy thought Hopper was afraid something else entirely was going to happen to his body.   
“How about they sleep in my bed and I sleep on the couch?”  
“No.” Joyce leaned conspiratorially towards Steve and Billy, but spoke loudly enough that Hopper could hear. “Unlike Jim I'm okay with funny business happening in my room, because I remember what it was like to be young and in love.”  
Both Steve and Billy laughed. Hopper scoffed and went back to his spot against the wall, but he didn't make any more protests. Joyce was going to get her way. It made Billy really happy to see Steve able to laugh already. He was going to be okay. He was going to be fucked up for a while, and would probably not sleep well for even longer, but he was going to be okay. 

A quick whisper came through the open door behind Billy. The teens were awake, and he was willing to bet they'd heard the entire conversation. The whisper now was probably a reaction to hearing their parents were going to share a room. A happy reaction if he were to venture guess. He saw Joyce had heard the whisper too. He leaned closer to her.   
“Would you guys be okay if I take care of this?” he whispered. He spoke to both Joyce and Steve, who both nodded. “I'm gonna send Jane in here, because I need a quick talk with Will. Is that okay?” They both nodded again.   
Billy squeezed Steve's hand before getting up. He tiptoed to the door opening and then quickly moved around the corner. Twin shouts of surprise met him. He crossed his arms at the two guilty looking teenagers who were standing there.   
“Eavesdropping isn't nice. Especially on important conversations.”   
They had the sense to look embarrassed. He moved towards them and at first they backed away a couple of steps. They were worried they were in deep shit.  
“Jane, could you go keep Steve company while I have a conversation with Will?”  
“Why him?” She frowned at him, and looked ready to jump to Will's defense.   
“He'll tell you later, I'm sure,” Billy said with a smile. “Steve needs a friend right now. Could you go in there and be one?”  
“Doesn't he need you?” Her frown deepened.   
“Yes, and I'll go back there in a moment, but right now I need a quick word with Will.”  
“Why do you need to talk to me?” Will said with a look of suspicion on his face.   
“You're not in trouble, if that's what you're worried about.” Billy pointed vaguely in the direction of the kitchen. “You might be in trouble with your mom, but not with me.”  
“He might be,” Joyce shouted from the kitchen. Will's eyes opened wide in fear.   
“How about we go to your room, so you can't be eavesdropped on back?” Billy raised an eyebrow, to pretend displeasure at their behavior.   
Will nodded. After a look to check that Will was all right, Jane went to the kitchen.   
“And you might be in trouble with me, young lady,” Hopper pointed out when he saw her.   
Billy and Will left them to it. Will looked worried, but led the way to his room. 

The room was a more or less typical teenager den; messy and covered in posters. The difference from other teenage rooms was the amount of art supplies littering most available surfaces, and the drawings scattered everywhere. They were really good drawings. The kid was a fucking artist.   
“Holy shit, kid, you can make money off this stuff.”  
“I'm not that good.” Will looked mildly embarrassed. “And I'm not a kid.”  
“Bullshit, you're a fucking genius. And you can blame Steve for the kid thing.” Billy grinned, but didn't elaborate that Steve referred to them as the kids. “I hope you're planning on going to art school, because you'd go far.”  
“If I'm a genius, why do you think I need school?” Will narrowed his eyes at him.   
“Same reason people good at math need school. To get papers and meet the right people.” Billy winked at Will. “Also, there's always something more to learn.”  
“I _will_ go to art school, actually. Already got accepted.” He smiled proudly.   
“Awesome. Good job.” Billy gave him a thumbs up.   
“So why do you want to talk to me?” He went to his bedside table and got a cigarette out of a pack. He lit it, and then offered the pack to Billy, who took one. It was just polite.   
Billy took the desk chair and turned it the wrong way, so that when he sat down he was leaning his forearms on the back of it. He sat close enough to reach the ashtray.   
“Because right around now I think you're wondering if your mom will react the same way Steve's parents did, and I need to let you know there's not a snowball's chance in hell she will.”  
“React to what?” The look on Will's face told Billy he already knew what was coming, but didn't want to admit it. He was still standing, and shuffled around some drawings that were on the end of the bed.   
“You liking boys.”  
“What?” Will paled, and a look of panic hit him. “What makes you think I do that?”  
“Don't even start, kid.” Billy pointed at him with his cigarette. “I like boys too. It's not like I think you're weird.”  
Will sat down on his bed, almost like his legs gave up on standing when his mind gave up protesting. He looked dejected.   
“Is it really that obvious?”  
“Only if you know what you're looking for.” Billy was happy to see Will didn't waste a lot of time trying to deny it. It showed he wasn't entirely against the idea of being into boys, which was the first step to accepting being gay. “I make a living dealing with gay guys. Being able to read how much they want me tells me how much money I can squeeze out of them. It's a skill, and I honed it. Kind of like what you do when you draw.”   
“But what gave it away when it comes to me?” He tilted his way in a way that reminded Billy of Jane.   
“You have a thing for Dustin Henderson, and I went from there.” There had been some connecting of dots and reasoning, and attempts to confirm visually today while having milkshakes. Confirmation had happened.   
“Oh god.” Will hid his face in his hands. His cigarette came close to singeing his hair. He spoke from behind his palms. “Is _that_ obvious too?”   
“Like I said, I know what to look for. I don't think anyone else knows. You're not obvious about it.” Billy said it to reassure Will, but he was fairly sure anyone paying proper attention would notice the looks Will gave Dustin, and how painfully self-conscious he was around him. Joyce had probably noticed it a long time ago, and added it to suspicions she'd probably had since Will was a kid.   
Will breathed a sigh of relief, then took a deep drag of his cigarette as another show of relief.   
“Without talking to your mom about it, I'm pretty sure she knows you're into boys too.”   
Will's hands dropped like rocks. He looked scared.   
“No way.”  
“Listen, when we came here, having been literally caught with our pants down in Steve's car, I wondered why her and Hopper didn't react like people would normally react. Being gay isn't common, and generally isn't accepted. Sorry to tell you this so bluntly, but I think you already know it's true; some people literally fucking hate gays.”  
“I know. It's scary.” Will eyed the pack of cigarettes, like he was considering lighting a new one before he was even done smoking the current one. Stress did that to smokers.   
“And that makes it scary to let people know. I know all about that. My dad still doesn't know. I sort of hope he never finds out, because he might try to kill me for it.” Billy struggled to sound calm. Even thinking about his father stressed him, maybe because he was geographically closer to the man than he'd been in years. Running into him on the street was an actual danger.   
“That's sick. But, my dad would probably hate me if he found out too.” Will sighed. “He wouldn't try to kill me or anything, but I don't think he'd want to see me again.”  
“That sucks, but it's his loss.” Billy stumped his smoke in the ashtray. He sat up straighter. “But your mom isn't even remotely like that, and neither is Hopper. I think they already know, and they're already cool with it.”  
“Why do you think they're cool with it?” Will looked at him skeptically.   
“Because of how they reacted to me and Steve.”  
“It's different when it's your own kid. What about grandkids and stuff?” He looked mildly dejected again.   
“Does she look like the kind of person who needs a blood relation to count someone as family?” Billy raised an eyebrow at him, and Will shook his head. “Besides, you are way too young to even think about having kids. You've been overthinking it. When the person is like your mom, it's _easier_ when it's your own kid. She already loves you, so it's easier to accept you the way you are. I think she was cool with me and Steve because she was already cool with you. That's why she didn't react the way I expected.”  
“What about Hopper?” Will looked even more skeptical now.   
“Trust me, kid, if your mom knows, he knows. They trust each other with everything. You can tell.”  
“We keep waiting for them to hook up,” Will said absently, referring at least to himself and Jane, but also maybe to the whole gang.   
“Now that me and Steve will be stealing her room, they might.” Billy grinned.   
“But if she knows, how did she find out?” Will put out his overly smoked cigarette. Billy had been waiting for the ember to fall off onto the carpet.   
“It's a mom thing,” Billy said and shrugged. “Good moms just sort of know this stuff.”  
“My mom is a good mom.” Will nodded emphatically.   
“I can tell. She's good in general.” Billy smiled at him, and in a way at Joyce too, even though she wasn't there. “Look, I know that talking to her about it will still be hard, and weird, and awkward, but I wanted to tell you you don't have to be scared of letting her know. There's only one thing that I think will change after you tell her.”  
“What's that?” Will's expression changed to something between suspicion and worry.   
“She'll tease you about potential boyfriends,” Billy said with a grin.   
“Oh god, no.” Will hid his face again.   
“It's a sign she's absolutely and totally cool with it. If she nudges you with a shoulder when she sees a cute boy, and asks you what you think, it's a dead sure sign she's 100% cool with it and doesn't think any different about you at all. It's the best thing that can happen. And I can totally see her doing that.”  
“It's mortifying.” Will still didn't take his hands down.   
“Only when you're a teenager. It gets better. Trust me.” Billy thought back to the horror that had been his teen years. That shit was rough. Even being a whore his life was ten times better now than it had been back then.   
“Did your mom do that with you?” Will removed his hands from his face and looked at Billy quizzically.   
“She wasn't a good mom, and I haven't seen her since before I moved to Hawkins.” Billy was the one to eye the pack now. He wasn't going to ask for another one, and his own cigarettes were somewhere in Steve's parents' living room. “She has no idea I like boys, I'm sure.”  
“Wow, that sucks.”  
“Yeah, well, sometimes that's life.” Billy wondered if he'd ever see his mom again. So far he'd had little to no urge to look her up. He was still bitter at being abandoned to a cruel father. That bitterness might never go away. She clearly didn't want him, so why would he want her? 

Billy stretched his arms and moved on to the next order of business.  
“I wanted to talk to you about Dustin too.”  
“Why?”   
“To tell you to fucking go for it,” Billy said with a grin.   
“Are you insane?” The words fell out of Will in a burst. His eyes were wide enough they looked ready to pop out.   
“What?” Billy shrugged; pretending he didn't know what was wrong. “You already know he's into guys. He's said it straight out.”  
“I'd never be brave enough to just own it like he does. His mom knows too. She's not happy about it, but she doesn't make an issue of it.” Will finally got another smoke. He forgot to offer one to Billy this time. “Just because he's into guys it doesn't mean he'd be into me.”  
“Only one way to find out.”  
“What do you think?” Will looked at Billy hopefully.   
“I think I've helped you enough for one night. Some shit you gotta figure out on your own.” Billy had observed Dustin enough to see that Will had a very good chance of getting a yes to the date request, but there was a limit to how involved he was going to get. Date angst was part of growing up. “What's the worst thing that can happen?”  
“That he doesn't want to be my friend anymore.” Will hung his head, and looked almost like Dustin when he made a show of disappointment.   
“Fuck off, you know that's never gonna to happen. That's just paranoia.” Billy waved his hand dismissively. He had seen how tightly knit this group was. No way would an awkward crush get between any of them. “Worst case he turns you down and things are weird for a while before going back to normal.”  
“I don't want things to be weird.” Will frowned and shook his head.   
“You're never gonna get anything if you don't take any risks.” Billy pointed at him again. “Ask him out.”  
“I could never do that.” He shook his head harder now.   
“Want me to ask him for you?” This was an empty offer. Billy would never actually do it. He was expecting it to be vehemently declined.   
“No!” Will looked almost outraged.   
“Then hop to it. It's not that hard.” Billy shrugged in a dismissive way. He was pushing buttons now, on purpose.   
“Speak for yourself.”  
“I've done it plenty of times.” Billy made an effort to sound confident. It wasn't completely true. He'd picked up a lot of guys he thought were hot, which was not same as asking someone you liked out on a date.   
“Did you do it with Steve too?”  
“The first time I met Steve again I sucked his dick for 50 bucks, with a 10 dollar bonus for swallowing. It doesn't count.” Billy knew he was probably disturbing the kid now, and disgusting him, but he wanted to make the point there were worse ways to get together with someone. He also wanted to make a point out of being honest. “Asking a dude you already know out on a date is easy.”  
“I did _not_ need that detail, and it's not easy.” Will looked queasy. Billy couldn't tell if it was from the thought of dick sucking or the thought of risking everything to ask Dustin out. Not that Billy saw it as much of a risk.   
Billy got up to go back to the kitchen and Steve. He'd said what he needed to say, and they could talk more later.   
“Just think about it, okay? Both coming out to your mom and asking Dustin out.”  
“They both sounds kinda terrifying,” Will said.   
“Yeah, I know, but I can guarantee you it will be easier than you think, once you just decide to do it.” Billy smiled at him and resisted the urge to pat his head. “We'll be staying with you for a few days, so if you need help with either, just give me a shout.”   
Will nodded, but didn't say anything more. He stayed on the bed when Billy left. Billy hoped the conversation had done the guy some good. Time would tell. 

Steve looked up from the conversation he was having with Jane when Billy came back. They'd talked about anything except what had happened tonight. It had helped him calm down and think straight again. Yes, his parents' reaction had sucked beyond belief, but he could deal. Being here had reminded him he had other family, and they had all accepted how it was, how he was, without anger, disgust, or disappointment. They'd all even accepted Billy, and what he meant to Steve. He'd been reminded he didn't have to deal with any of this alone. Billy sat down next to him instead of across from him, since that spot was now taken by Jane. He touched Steve's hand that was on the table. Steve moved his hand so they could twine their fingers together. He didn't feel awkward about it, maybe because he was still messed up from what had happened. Or, he just trusted the people around him to not think it was weird. Joyce came into the room moments later. She smiled when she saw their joined hands.   
“The bed's all ready. You can go to sleep whenever you need to.”  
“I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep for days,” Steve said. He was still wired from what had happened, and his mind would relive it over and over, and he would drive himself insane.   
“I think you're probably gonna crash any moment,” Billy said. “Shit happens, you crank up to 11, and when it's over the speakers blow and you flatline.”  
“I think what he means to say is that when a bad experience is over you tend to get exhausted, because it took so much out of you.” Joyce smiled mischievously at Billy.   
“Yes, that,” Billy agreed. He squeezed Steve's hand gently. “Come on, let's see if we can get some sleep. I think we both need it.”  
Steve nodded and got up, without letting go of Billy. They said good night to the three people in the room, Will hadn't come back, and went to Joyce's bedroom. The room had a visible feminine touch. The walls were pale peach, and the decorations were primarily flowery. Steve thought this might be the room Joyce had dreamed of having back when she could barely afford to feed her kids. There were pictures of Jonathan, Will, and Jane on the wall. Steve liked that neither Hopper nor Joyce were content with having pictures of their kids only in the living room. Steve knew his mother had a picture of him on the mantle on the bedroom fireplace. It made him hopeful that Billy was right that she just needed time, but he couldn't help wondering if that picture was off the mantle now. They climbed into bed without talking. Steve smiled when he realized they had their own sides of the bed now. Every time they shared a bed Steve was on the left and Billy on the right. As soon as he got under the covers Billy scooted over to him and wrapped his arms around him.   
“Don't think, okay?” He murmured. “Just focus on the fact I'm here with you, and I'm not going anywhere.”   
Steve moved as close to him as he could physically get.   
“I know. Thanks.” A yawn interrupted what he was planning on saying next. Seemed they were right about crashing. “And thanks for everything you've done the rest of the night too.”  
“Including the blowjob?”   
Steve suspected Billy was both trying to lighten the mood, and find out if Steve was upset with how the blowjob had ended. Sure, he was upset with how it had ended, but none of that was Billy's fault. All Billy had done was try to make Steve feel good. He'd succeeded in making Steve feel good.   
“Especially the blowjob.”  
Billy kissed his hair. Steve was already starting to fade, but before he slipped all the way into sleep there was a short space of time where he thought he might already love this man. This man who had kept him sane through one of the worst experiences of his life, and done everything right, and who had just now kissed his hair like an idiot in love. Billy Hargrove.


	17. Chapter 17

They were nearing the end of their stay in Hawkins, and Billy found himself oddly reluctant to leave. In spite of the less than awesome first night, and the considerably worse meeting with Steve's parents, it had been a good trip. He had a good idea now why these people were so important to Steve. Hell, some of them were already starting to feel important to Billy himself. Joyce Byers was a fucking gem, and staying with them was awesome. Both she and Hopper had been welcoming, and were fun to talk to, and the teenagers were too. In Billy's experience teenagers were difficult to deal with, but these two were decent people. All the Goonies were. They'd spent quite a bit of time with them, in between the teens doing the spring break thing and partying their asses off. Billy and Steve had declined partying with them. Hanging out with was one thing; partying with was another thing entirely. The age gap would make it all too weird, not to mention Steve's parenting tendencies might have an impact on the level of fun everyone was having. Billy found it adorable how much of a responsible adult Steve was around them. Babysitting them in the past showed. It was also cute how everyone except Dustin listened to Steve like he was in charge. Dustin was his own boss. 

They'd had a couple of beers with Hopper and Joyce, who had asked Billy questions about his life in a way that was surprisingly non-judgmental. Even Hopper had reeled in his exasperation at their idiocy. Billy thought he'd probably seen a lot of bullshit from people over the years. Encountering stupidity was an occupational hazard for a cop. He'd also reeled in his exasperation for Steve's casual affection towards Billy. He did not reel in his outbursts the couple of times he'd caught them kissing out of sight. Casual affection he could deal with, but blatant displays of it had him rolling his eyes like a teenager. Billy wondered if it was because he was envious. That maybe old Hopper wanted to do the same with Joyce. He wondered how the bed sharing with Joyce was going, and if funny business was happening on their end. He hoped it was. Joyce had told them funny business was okay in her room, but apart from some quiet lovemaking one night they hadn't done anything. Part of it was being guests, but part was also having some of the perv temporarily scared out of them by how things went down with Steve's parents. Steve hadn't said much about it, but Billy knew it bothered him. He went more quiet than usual at times, and he made an effort to stay occupied with something as much as possible. Can't think about bad things if you don't have time to think. Today they had three jobs that would keep them busy all day, into the evening. First they had to pick up the now fixed car, then get the groceries for the big dinner, and then make said big dinner. Billy was looking forward to all of it, even the car getting. They'd returned the rental car some days earlier, after Joyce said they could use hers as long as they took her to work and picked her up after. Neither was against saving the money. 

The bill for the car repair made them glad they'd saved that money. It made Steve wince. Granted, they'd done a couple of other repairs that Billy had recommended, but it still couldn't be called cheap. He still had money left, but that was mostly because he'd been saving money for a new car and had broken into the funds for the trip. Now that the car had had some work done he could probably tell himself he had more time to save for a new one now. It felt nice to be back behind the wheel of his own car again though, and it was even better to drive now than after Billy had fixed it. They had a smoke in the car to celebrate, and to get over the stress of the price. They drove to the second stop for the day, which was getting groceries for the dinner tonight. It had all been planned out in detail, mostly between Jane and Billy. Jane had taken a liking to Billy, and it had made everyone more inclined to like him too. Even after the first meeting had gone so well everyone had been understandably skeptical to the notion that Billy had changed that much, especially Lucas and Max, but they'd given him the benefit of the doubt, and they had all come around by now. Billy and Max even seemed to be bonding; something that had been completely out of the question when they were younger. It made Steve stupidly happy every time one of them shared a smile or a laugh with Billy. 

The grocery shopping was over too fast for Billy's liking. They'd been offered help, but Billy had declined it. He loved getting groceries with Steve. It felt domestic in a good way. He could experience for a few moments what it could be like to actually share a living space with Steve. And Steve was fun to shop with. He had the most random comments about random stuff. Like how it was weird to have the Flintstones cereal be called Fruity Pebbles when their kid was named Pebbles, and how you should be skeptical to white stuff sprinkled on cereal. Billy said Steve was fruity. It took Steve a moment to get it, but when he did he snickered. They bought enough food to make dinner and dessert for about 20 people, even though there would only be 12 eating. Billy's philosophy with food was that too much was better than not enough. Everyone had chipped in for the food, so money wasn't an issue. They could get the good stuff of everything. Billy could hardly wait to get home to start cooking. Cooking with great ingredients wasn't something he did often, and he had a feeling cooking with Jane was going to be interesting and fun. The girl didn't talk much, but what she said she meant, and she was not shy about opinions. They'd told everyone that if they wanted to join in on the cooking they could, so that could be interesting too. He wouldn't put it past Dustin to have inventive suggestions for ingredients. The guy's mind worked in mysterious, but cool, ways. All in all it had all the makings of an awesome day. They just needed to get the groceries in the car and they were good to go. 

Steve had just closed the trunk of the car and was pondering ways to get Billy to take the cart back, when a derisive sound came from behind them. They both turned to find Neil Hargrove looking at them in disgust.   
“So, the _faggot_ is out shopping with his boyfriend.”   
Steve was instantly pissed off enough that hair raised at the back of his neck, like a fucking dog raising its hackles. He glanced over at Billy and saw he was frozen in place. Steve called on all the cold confidence he'd learned as a teenager, and took a step towards Neil.   
“You know nothing about him, so you can fuck right off.”   
“I saw the two of you in there. Flirting like a couple of bitches in heat.”  
The statement was so absurd Steve didn't know how to respond to it.   
“What part of 'fuck off' was too difficult for you to comprehend? Do I need to use smaller words?”  
“I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to the other faggot.” Neil pointed to Billy. “The one who's too scared to stand up for himself.” Every time he said the word “faggot” he spat it out with disgust.   
“He's not scared of anything, and definitely not you.” Steve pointed right back at the man in the same way he was pointing at Billy. “You're just not good enough for him to talk to.”   
Steve wanted to defend Billy. Hell, he _needed_ to. Billy was his, and when he needed protecting Steve was going to be the one to fucking do it.   
“Your mother did that to you.” Neil kept talking to Billy, and ignoring Steve. “Babying you like a little girl.”  
From the corner of his eye Steve saw Billy step up beside him. He could feel the tension coming off him.   
“No, that was all you. If anyone turned me into a faggot it's all on you. And not only that, you turned me into a faggot _whore_. That's how good a father you are. I can't wait to tell all of goddamn Hawkins what a stellar job you did as a parent. They already know what a great job you did with Max.”  
Steve saw the quickly hidden flinch that crossed Neil's face, and his eyes flashed a moment of hesitation before they went to derisive anger. Billy had hit the right buttons to hurt the man. Neil took a step towards them. Steve immediately got in his face.   
“One more step and I punch your fucking lights out, asshole. Chief Hopper's a good friend of mine, and I know he'll let me off easy for beating the shit out of you in public.”  
“You think you're tough, huh? Let's see what you got.” Neil drew himself up, but Steve saw doubt in his face and movements. Neil didn't trust himself in a fight. Hopper was probably the reason for that.   
“No, Steve, if anyone's going to beat him up it's going to be me.” Billy put a hand on Steve's shoulder and calmly pushed him out of the way. At least he made a show of being calm. Steve saw he wasn't. “I have a fucking score to settle with this piece of shit, and I don't give a damn how much trouble it gets me in.”   
Neil took a step back, and tried to play it off as something other than the fear Steve saw in his face.   
“You're not worth my time.” He pointed to Billy as he took another step back. “You're not my son, faggot. You're as useless and disgusting as I always knew you were. You're worthless to me, and anyone else.”  
“He's not worthless to me.” Steve got in front of Billy again and advanced on Neil, who backed away. “He's the best thing that ever fucking happened to me. He's happier than you, more than you'll ever be, and he has people around him who he's important to. A lot of people. That's more than anyone can say about you. _You're_ the one who's fucking worthless, and you'll never be anything else. Now do what I told you from the get go, and fuck off.”  
Neil pointed in a threatening way, but then turned and walked away. Billy turned without a word and got into the car. Steve quickly pushed the cart out of the way and got in after him. Billy sat with his face in his hands, trembling. He wasn't crying, but he was clearly not in a good place. Steve wrapped his arms around him as tightly as he could manage in the front seat of a car. They said nothing for a long time. 

Billy let himself be held by Steve. He was perfectly willing to ignore whatever his pride had to say about the matter, which frankly wasn't a lot. Seeing his dad had fucked him up just as much as he'd feared it would. If Steve hadn't been there Billy would have just frozen and taken whatever his father had decided to dish out. Years away from him obviously hadn't done much to change that. It made Billy feel weak. His father had spoken and all the old familiar fear had locked onto Billy in an instant, and made him unable to move or speak. Then Steve had stepped in front of him, all cool and badass, and it had given Billy the strength he needed to break free of the paralysis. He was happy he'd told Neil he was a whore. It hadn't felt like admitting something shameful. It had felt like being tough and getting the fucker back. Then Steve had faced down Neil's anger again, by getting all up in his personal space and leveling a threat at him, and Billy had felt something he couldn't remember feeling before. He felt fucking protected. It had given him what he needed to level a threat too. A threat he'd wanted to throw at his dad since he was a kid. He wasn't sure he was ever going to be able to try to beat the man up, but the threat had been made, and it had done a lot to make Billy feel less weak and useless. He pulled back from Steve and looked at him. Steve looked back at him with worry in his eyes, but also something that made Billy's stomach tingle. Steve had shown him he was willing to face down the worst if Billy needed it. Billy had never feared anyone like he feared his father, and Steve hadn't even hesitated before he got in his face in Billy's defense. He knew Steve didn't see him in the same way as Billy did, but it was still standing up to a vitriolic and angry man with known violent tendencies. Steve hadn't stopped to ask if he should get involved. It was like he did it on instinct. Billy wanted to take him home, and to bed, and make love until sunset, and then make love again until sunrise. He wouldn't, because they had a dinner to make, but holy fuck this guy was incredible. He'd called Billy the best thing that ever happened to him. Steve had no idea how insanely fucking true that was for Billy. Steve had come into his life out of nowhere and changed fucking everything. Looking at Steve now it struck Billy that for the first time in years he really wanted to not be a prostitute. It wasn't because he was ashamed of it, but because he wanted to change his life for the better. To do better, and to be safer, so Steve wouldn't have to worry. Steve made him want to be a better person, and that was something no one else had done for him before. People had made changes in his life before, and had gotten him to change, but no one had made him _want_ to change in the same way. He should let him know. Let him know how fucking important he was. Let him know just what Billy was feeling for him right now, and how intense those feelings were. He should.   
“Steve?”  
“Yeah?”   
“Let's go back and start dinner.” Billy smiled and lit a smoke. One emotional ride was enough for one trip to the grocery store.  
“Sure.” Steve smiled back at him and started the car. 

Back at the house they chose to not talk about their meeting with Neil with the others. They'd probably talk to Joyce and Hopper about it later, but for now they left it alone. Steve helped put groceries away and ready things for the cooking, but then pulled back and let Billy and Jane take control. Joyce seemed content to do the same, and brought coffee when she sat down next to Steve. She poured them both a cup. They enjoyed their coffee, and talked about unimportant things, while watching Jane and Billy work. Will had gone out to pick up Mike and Dustin. Steve wondered how self-conscious Will would be during dinner. Billy had told him about the conversation he'd had with Will about coming out, and Dustin. They had not told Joyce or anyone else about it. Steve hoped Will would ask Dustin out, or the other way around. He thought they'd make a good couple, but he wasn't going to get involved it. They could figure their own shit out. Not that he wasn't surprised to find out Will was gay. That one had come out of left field. But, it was cool. It wasn't like he was going to start thinking Will was weird for it. Even if he hadn't figured out the whole gay thing about himself he wouldn't have thought Will was weird for it. Jane came over to the table with lots of things that made up a good salad. Only problem was it was currently a disassembled salad. She fetched two cutting boards and two knives.   
“Can you two start cutting things for the salad?”   
“Yes, we can.” Joyce accepted a knife and a cutting board with a smile. She started cutting tomatoes.   
Steve smiled at Jane too, and started on cucumber. It was nice to feel helpful, instead of just watching the action. Jane and Billy worked together really well. They talked about what they were doing, and made suggestions to one another. Steve looked at Joyce.  
“I think Jane would make a good chef.”   
“She's considering it. She can't go off to college, for obvious reasons for those of us who know what's up, so she's been looking into things she can learn in Hawkins. She loves cooking.”  
“Billy does too. I think he'd make a great chef, and he's tough enough that he could probably run his own kitchen.”  
“What do you say, Billy?” Joyce said loud enough for the others to hear.  
“To what?”  
“Becoming a professional chef. You and Jane could start a cafe together.”  
“I'd like that a lot,” Jane said.   
“A cafe specializing in cheesecake,” Steve added with a grin.   
Billy laughed. When Joyce and Jane looked at them in confusion they told them about Steve's stupid cheesecake bet. Joyce laughed herself silly. 

Will, Mike, and Dustin showed up, and were given the task of slicing and grating various cheeses. Their dinner was going to be interesting. Jane had suggested making everyone's different favorite foods. Billy had looked at the list of favorite foods and concluded they could use just about all of it as pizza toppings, or sides to pizza, if they were inventive. So, they were having a pizza party, with an eclectic mix of pizzas. Everyone had been totally on board with the idea as soon as they'd heard Billy's suggestions. Billy loved the challenge of it. The idea of becoming a chef wasn't one he was against entertaining. If he was going to quit being a whore he needed to do _something_ , right? Being a chef sounded a hell of a lot better than being a store clerk. Nothing against the people who had those jobs, but Billy imagined the customer service attitude forced on those workers would lead to him killing someone, while at work, in front of management. At least in his current job he could tell people to fuck off if he wanted. There wasn't a lot he wasn't willing to do for money, but there were people he refused to service. Having to smile and apologize for that would drive him insane. As a chef he could hide in the kitchen and not have to deal with customer service. The fact he really enjoyed cooking was a bonus. Maybe he should talk to James about it when he got back. Just hear what he had to say about it and take it from there. Maybe something would come of it. He peeked over at Steve, who had finished his cutting task, and wondered if he could convince him to pursue that teaching dream of his. Working to improve their lives together could be a really cool experience. 

A small fight broke out between Dustin and Mike over whether to slice or grate gouda, and Steve got up to break it up. He said they could grate half and slice the other half, and then compare when the food was done. They reluctantly agreed. He was expecting another fight when it came time to decide which pizza got which cheese. He hoped Billy would override them and make the decision. After the fight was broken up Steve got his cup of coffee and offered it to Billy. Billy's hands were full of flour at the moment, so he let Steve hold the cup to his mouth so he could have some. Their eyes met while Billy was sipping the drink, and it was all Steve could do to not kiss the hell out of the guy in front of everyone. He heard whispers and giggles behind him, and felt busted. Billy grinned and winked at him. Dustin whistled at them. Steve took it as a sign everything was cool, and didn't get annoyed. It was difficult to get annoyed at Dustin, even on bad days. The guy had a natural charm that rivaled Billy's honed one. Steve admittedly had a soft spot for the guy. They'd hunted demodogs together. Since he was already out of his seat, Steve decided to make himself useful by cleaning up some of the bowls and knives. Jane was at the stove minding two pizza sauces they'd made from scratch. Steve could hardly wait to eat. It smelled fantastic. The doorbell announced the arrival of Nancy, Jonathan, Lucas, and Max, who all entered without waiting for anyone to open the door. If Steve ever had a house he wanted to have one where people could just enter at will. It seemed like such a welcoming and friendly way to live. For a brief moment he imagined what life might be like if he shared that house with Billy. Barbecues in the back yard, with Billy controlling the grill. Watching basketball on the TV together. The kids dropping by at random times. It made him smile to himself while he cleaned the cutting boards. Domestic bullshit with Billy was tempting, in a mildly stupid and rosy sort of way. In reality they might drive each other insane, and bicker over who got control over the remote, and whose turn it was to clean the towels. Steve sort of wanted to experience that stuff too, even fighting. There was practically no limit to the stuff he wanted to experience, as long as Billy was part of it. Billy almost immediately made him question that thought, by putting fingers full of flour under the stream of water Steve was trying to clean stuff with.   
“Hey!”  
“Do you want me to wipe them on your shirt instead?”  
“You could have asked for the sink, asshole.”  
“I'd ask now, but my hands are clean now.” He held up his fingers and grinned.   
Steve splashed water in his face and thoroughly enjoyed the splutter that resulted. Billy retaliated by grabbing Steve's face with wet hands and kissing him. It was just a quick chaste kiss, but it made Steve's knees weak nonetheless, and embarrassed him a little when several whistles broke out around them. He was less embarrassed than he might have thought beforehand, so that was cool. He turned around and gave them all a sheepish grin and a shrug. Billy just plain beamed proudly at them. Dustin gave Billy two thumbs up. Joyce gave Steve a thumbs up and grinned cheekily at him. Steve gave up the cleaning and went back to his coffee cup. 

This dinner prep was even more fun than the Christmas dinner at Steve's place, and that had been pretty awesome. Billy was having a blast. The people around him were friendly and were joking around. The help was random and not always helpful, and he loved it. The first pizza was ready to go in the oven, and they were standing around him like he was about to win at a game show. If this was how they reacted to it going in there'd be a standing ovation when he took it out. He got the next pizza in line ready, then went to sit down for a while. There wasn't much more to do at the moment. They just needed to wait for the pizza to finish. Nancy got up from her chair next to Steve when Billy approached. He tried to protest, but she said she wanted to make herself useful. There was a serious lack of chairs for dinner, and the table wasn't big enough to accommodate everyone. Nancy and Jonathan had foreseen this, and had brought some foldable chairs and a foldable table they'd borrowed from the school. They went out to the car to get them and set them up. It made it cramped in the kitchen, but the majority of the cooking was done by now, so it was fine. Billy and Jane just needed a little space to put together pizzas, and take them in and out of the oven. Jane joined them at the table for a break after sorting the cheese into a nice line of bowls. Mike gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. When he noticed the smiles around him he shrugged and said he was inspired by Steve and Billy. Dustin immediately landed a kiss on Will's cheek, and explained that he didn't want them to be left out. Max warned Lucas to keep his lips off her face until they were in private. Lucas lifted his hands to acknowledge he got the message. Billy looked at Will, who looked like his brain had short circuited. The guy was in trouble, but it didn't seem like anyone had noticed. He looked at Billy like a deer in headlights. Billy gave him a grin and a wink, and offered him a cigarette. Will took it gratefully. A couple of drags in he looked more in control. Dustin sneaked a drag from him, without taking the cigarette out of Will's hand, and that made Will momentarily short circuit again. Billy really needed to get Will to ask Dustin out. The kid would die of an aneurysm if he didn't. Dustin's affectionate nature would be the death of Will's sanity if he didn't do something about it. The interesting thing was that Dustin appeared to be more affectionate with Will than with the others. Maybe there was something there. Something it was possible neither was aware of. Billy decided to have a word with Will after people had gone home tonight. The ding of the timer, and subsequent shouts of excitement, pulled Billy out of any more musing. He went to get the pizza. The standing ovation actually almost happened. 

To Steve dinner was fucking fantastic, and by the looks of it everyone agreed with him. The food was great, the company was great, and there was an all round good time had by everyone. Hopper arrived a little late, but not too late to join in the fun, and get pizza. It was a good thing they'd bought so much food, because by the end of the evening everything was gone. Steve had forgotten how much food teenage boys could put in themselves in one go, and Billy kept up with them. Steve noticed Hopper managed to get a seat next to Joyce, and it sure seemed like it was on purpose. Maybe a week sharing a bed was finally getting them somewhere. Fucking everyone wanted them to hook up at this point; even Billy was on board with it already. Billy had taken a huge liking to Joyce. Steve couldn't blame him there. He had a huge liking for her himself. Hell, he had a huge liking for everyone in the room. This was family, in the best possible way. He resisted the urge to make a toast, because that would be cheesy as fuck, and he would never live down the embarrassment. A few moments later it was as if Dustin had read his mind, because he got up and did the stupid glass tapping thing that always preceded a speech and a toast. Everyone quieted down, and Dustin cleared his throat before speaking.   
“I just want to say that I am cool with Billy being here with us, and definitely cool with him making this dinner,” he said, before being interrupted by a murmur from Mike. “ _With_ Jane. Making this dinner with Jane.” He pointed to Jane, before turning and pointing to Billy. “I am also cool with you being Steve's boyfriend, because you seem like a cool guy, and you guys are totally cute together.” Dustin beamed happily and raised his glass. “To idiots in love!”   
Everyone laughed, and they all raised their glasses and toasted, including Steve and Billy. Dustin would have no embarrassment to live down, because the little fucker was able to pull off shit like this with style. If Steve ever got married, something that was extremely unlikely at this point, he'd want Dustin to be his best man, just to hear the speech. 

Dinner broke up relatively early, as in 11pm instead of 3am. Joyce and Hopper had work in the morning, and the others decided to be considerate. Will was going to drive Mike and Dustin home, so Billy pulled him aside for a moment, out of earshot of everyone else.   
“This is a great chance to ask him out,” he whispered.  
“What?” Will asked, almost too much in shock to remember to not talk loudly.   
“Take Mike home first, and then when you drop off Dustin you ask him out.”  
“I can't do that!” This time he did forget to talk quietly.   
“Of course you can. Stop the car, take a deep breath, and just do it.”  
Will shook his head. Billy did his best to look encouraging. He wasn't sure it worked, and Mike came to find Will before he had a chance to push him more. He'd definitely stay up to hear how that went. When the others had gone, Jane went to her room, and Steve, Billy, Hopper, and Joyce went to the kitchen. The kitchen really was the heart of this house. It was where all the talking happened. Billy and Steve told them about their meeting with Neil. Hopper got pissed off on Billy's behalf, and muttered something about needing to slug the bastard again. Billy appreciated it. He wouldn't want Hopper to do it, because he didn't want him to get in trouble for it again, but the thought was nice. Joyce took Billy's hand instead of getting angry. He appreciated that too. Billy lamented his poor car rotting away in the driveway of that asshole, but then changed the subject to something more fun. He tried poking Joyce and Hopper about their relationship. Steve carefully said nothing. Hopper shut the conversation down quickly, but Joyce grinned in mischief when he did so. She looked happy.

When Will returned Billy practically jumped up from the chair and more or less dragged the kid to his room. He barely waited for the door to close behind them before he asked if Will had done it. He hadn't. Billy sighed dramatically in disappointment. Will said nothing.   
“Okay, here's what we're gonna do,” Billy said. “You're going to call him.”  
“Now?”  
“Yes. It hasn't been that long. He's guaranteed awake.” A part of Billy said he probably shouldn't be meddling like this, but he couldn't just sit by and watch this kid waste what little was left of his teen years being scared to ask a dude out.   
“What about his mom?”  
“Was she up when you were there?” Billy lit a smoke and offered one to Will, who took it gratefully.   
“There was a light on, but I didn't see her.” He sat on his bed and looked anxious.   
“Then she's probably awake and it's fine.” Billy waved it away. “If she picks up the phone tell her Dustin forgot something here and you just want to hear if you need to drop it off today or if he can wait until tomorrow. If she asks what it is just be really vague.”  
“And if _he_ picks up?”  
“You ask him out, of course.” Billy didn't say “duh”, but he sort of wanted to.   
“How do I do that?” Will ran a hand through his hair. It was longer than it needed to be, but it looked good on him.   
Billy took this as a good sign. Will wasn't flat out refusing to do it.   
“You just say 'will you do on a date with me'.”  
“Just like that?” He frowned skeptically.   
“Pretty much. It's not that complicated. But!” Billy held up a finger. “Don't expect him to answer right away.”  
“Why not?”  
“Because he's going to be surprised. He doesn't know you're gay, dude. You haven't told anyone. So ask him out, tell him to think about it, and hang up. Give him time to process.”  
“Do you think he'll say yes if he has time to think about it?”  
“I think there's a better chance for a yes if he has time to think about it, instead of being forced into a reply right away.”   
“Okay.” Will nodded.  
“Are you gonna do it?”  
“Okay.” He nodded again.   
“Awesome! Let's go.” Billy clapped his hands like a coach breaking up a timeout.   
They had a phone in the hallway outside that had an extra long cord. It was a smart solution to the problem of phones in their rooms. Will took it with him to his room.   
“Billy, go pick up the other phone. You need to tell me how I did after. And I really need the moral support.”  
“You want me eavesdropping?” Billy raised an eyebrow at him, but grinned.   
“Yes. Don't tell anyone.” Will held up a finger in warning.   
“It's cool, dude. Give me second to get to the phone.” Billy hurried out of the room. 

The other phone was in the living room, and it was busy, of course. Joyce was on the phone with someone. Billy hurried back to Will and told him the call was on hold until Joyce finished talking to whoever she was talking to. He hoped Will wouldn't talk himself out of asking Dustin out in the meantime. He checked in on Joyce frequently, without eavesdropping, and as soon as she hung up he told Will it was showtime. He hurried back to the living room. Before he picked the receiver up he warned the people in the kitchen to be quiet, without telling them what was up. They all complied, after some quick glances at each other, like they were trying to confirm their suspicions. He carefully picked up the line and let Will know he was on. Will dialed Dustin's number and they waited. The phone was picked up after three rings. It was Dustin.   
“Henderson.”  
“Hi, Dustin. It's Will.”  
“Hi, Will. What's up?” He sounded cheerful. Good start.   
“Uh, this is going to sound weird, but I really mean it.”  
“Okay... what is it?” Dustin hesitated, but didn't sound suspicious.   
“Will you go on a date with me?” The words fell out of Will in a rush.   
“What?” It burst out of Dustin, almost like a cough. If he'd been drinking something when Will asked it would have ended up on the wall in a spray.   
“A date. Like, to the movies or something?” His uncertainty came out. “You can decide.”  
“A _date_ date?” You could hear from his voice that his eyebrows were hitting his hairline.   
“Yeah. Like... I don't even know what words to use, but you get it, right?”   
Billy heard Will take a drag off his cigarette. They were great moral support too.   
“Yeah, I get it. I... wow.”  
“I mean it, Dustin. It's not a joke.” More confidence now. Billy liked hearing it.   
“No. Totally. I didn't think that. I believe you.” Dustin rushed through the words, probably worried Will would take things the wrong way. “I'm just surprised. I just... wow.”  
“Yeah, I get that. But think about it, okay?” Will still sounded confident. “You don't have to answer now.”  
“Yeah, okay. I'll think about it. Really, I will.” He was still rushing, but slightly slower than before.   
“Okay. Cool.” Will took a deep breath. “Um, so I'll talk to you later?”  
“Yeah, totally. I'll totally talk to you later, and tell you my answer.”  
“Cool. Uh, bye then.”  
“Yeah, bye.”  
They hung up, and Billy quickly, but carefully, put his receiver down, just in case Dustin was still somehow on the line. Better safe than sorry. He hurried to Will's bedroom. Will was smoking, with trembling fingers.   
“I can't believe I just did that.”  
“You did great.” Billy sat down on Will's desk chair, in the same position as last time.   
“I did?” He looked somewhere between hopeful and skeptical.   
“Absolutely.”  
“I won't be able to sleep tonight.” Will sighed and looked at the ceiling.   
“In danger of sounding like a parent on Christmas Eve,” Billy said, “the faster you fall asleep the faster tomorrow will come and you'll get your answer.”  
“You think he'll reply tomorrow?”  
“If he doesn't I'll sic Steve on him. Don't worry.”  
Will smiled, then nodded. Billy took his leave and went to the group in the kitchen. 

Steve looked at Billy expectantly when he entered, but Billy only shrugged and smiled. Joyce offered him a beer.   
“Will need help with something?” she asked.  
“Something like that.” Billy shrugged, but in a nice way. “Everything's cool.”   
“He doesn't talk to me about things anymore.” She looked sad about it.   
Steve could understand why, but he also knew teens were crap at talking to parents.   
“I think he will soon. It's fine.”   
“Thank you for helping him, with whatever it is that's going on.”  
“It's my pleasure. He's a good kid.”  
“Yes he is,” Hopper said. “They all are.”  
Both Billy and Steve nodded. The kids had all gone through hell, and come out on top. They'd come out of it better people, and they would all be friends forever. He knew that for sure. And, if he was lucky, he got to be friends with them forever too. If he was even more lucky Billy would be there with him the whole time. The thought of years with Billy appealed to him more every day, and it was already pretty damn appealing. He wanted to tell Billy this. Tell him this new stuff he was feeling. No, not really new things. It was many of the same things, only stronger, and more comfortable. Like it was the right thing to feel, and he was supposed to be feeling this way. It was fucking great. But, it wasn't the right time to tell yet. He'd know when the time came, just like he'd known when it had been time to take Billy to his bed. Speaking of, it was probably time to take Billy to bed now. Steve yawned just at the thought of sleeping. Joyce was immediately infected by the yawn. Hopper nodded.   
“Yeah, I think it's time for all of us to hit the hay.”   
They all nodded and got up. Steve put the beer bottles on the counter before following Billy to the bedroom. Billy poked fun at him for being too tidy. Steve poked Billy's ribs. They brushed their teeth together, all domestic like. Steve thought it might be stupid how much he enjoyed doing these little things with Billy. When they got into bed together Steve wanted one more moment of domestic bullshit. He gently kissed Billy good night, before snuggling up close to him. Billy held him close and kissed his hair. It was some stupid fucking marital bliss cliché crap, and Steve fucking loved it. He could think of no better way to fall asleep.


	18. Chapter 18

The morning after the dinner, Steve and Billy slept in. By the time they got up,, everyone else had left the house. Hopper and Joyce to go to work, Will and Jane to do whatever teenagers these days did on spring break when it was too early to party. Steve visiting Hawkins had already cut into their party time, but he had a feeling they didn't mind at all. Steve and Billy were enjoying a cup of coffee and a smoke when the front door burst open. Dustin rushed into the kitchen, out of breath.   
“Steve, Steve, Steve, Steve, Steve. You gotta help me, man. I don't know what to do.”  
“What happened?” Steve had a feeling he knew what had happened. Billy had told him about Will's call to Dustin last night.   
“Will asked me out. Like, on a date. Like, me and him.” He stopped to catch his breath.   
“And?” Bingo. Steve made a show of being calm and unsurprised.   
“What do you mean 'and'? It's _Will_.”   
“Do you like him?” Steve wanted Dustin to start thinking about this, instead of panicking.   
“I dunno. Maybe? I mean, yes, I like him, but maybe not in that way.” It only took moments to put Dustin into a full blown ramble. “I could like him in that way, I guess. Or maybe I do. I dunno. But it's Will, and he's my friend, and I don't know what to do. Tell me what to do.” He looked like he wanted to grab Steve's shirt and shake him, like a person in a panic in an old movie.   
Billy calmly offered Dustin coffee and a cigarette, and kept his mouth shut. Dustin took both with obvious relief and sat down.   
“I dunno,” Steve said, still doing his best impression of calm and collected. Inwardly he had a massive urge to giggle uncontrollably. “Go out with him?”  
“What?” Dustin coughed out the drag he's just taken from the cigarette. Billy got up and patted him on the back, possibly just to be annoying.   
“Well, why not?” Steve shrugged and lit a cigarette.   
“Um, because he's my friend?” Dustin did a hand movement that, along with his tone, said “duh”.   
Billy sat back down and still said nothing. Steve wondered if it was because he had as much of a want to laugh as he did. Dustin was being adorable, and he didn't even know it.   
“I don't see the problem,” Steve said.   
“What if things get weird?” Dustin looked almost comically concerned.   
“Then they get weird.” Steve shrugged again. “It'll pass.” In this friend group weird wouldn't change anything for long. They'd go right back to normal, after only a short amount of time.   
“What if he ends up not liking me?”  
“Like that'll ever happen.” Steve pointed at him and put on a lecturing tone. “You'd have to be a total asswipe for that to happen, and that's just not you.”  
“I would totally never be an asswipe to Will,” Dustin said, almost in outrage. “Not ever.”  
“Then where's the problem with going out with him? Didn't you complain guys aren't into you?”   
“But it's _Will_. Not 'guys'.”  
Billy got up and went to the fridge, probably to start making breakfast. He was making a point of not being part of this conversation. Steve was okay with it.   
“You keep going back to that. The 'it's _Will_ ' thing.” Steve mimicked the way Dustin said it. “Get over it. Go on a date. What's the worst that can happen?”  
“He ends up not liking me?” Dustin did the “duh” hand movement again.   
“We've already established that's not gonna happen.” Steve decided to get serious. “Look dude, I fucking paid a guy to suck my dick as my first gay experience, and look where that got me.” He inclined his head towards Billy. “Go have a fucking date with someone you already like. It's not gonna kill you, and you might get a boyfriend out of it.”  
“Boyfriend? _Will_ as my _boyfriend_?” His eyebrows shot up.   
“You don't like that thought?”  
“I dunno. I... guess it's not a bad thought.” He sounded like he was in the middle of an epiphany.   
“Have you had your first gay kiss yet?”  
“No. Don't tell the others.” The last part came out in a rush. Pride was a funny thing.   
“Now you have a chance to have that first kiss be with Will. Stew on that for a while, and see how you find it.” Steve lit a cigarette and sat back to wait patiently for the result. 

After a long time of silence, that Steve left him to, Dustin spoke again.  
“It would be weird, but also kind of cool.”  
“So?”  
“So yeah. Sure.” He nodded. “I'll go on a date with him.”  
“Good, now go let him know before he freaks out that you didn't say yes right away, and that you're not wherever it is the rest of the gang are right now.”  
“Oh god, he'd totally do that, wouldn't he?”   
Steve just nodded at him. Dustin ran off, shouting a quick thanks to Steve over his shoulder. Seconds later the front door slammed. Billy nudged Steve with a finger when the room was empty again.  
“Matchmaker.” He put a plate of food in front of Steve. That was how long Dustin had taken to think things through.   
“Says the guy who put the idea in Will's head to begin with.”  
“I didn't put it in his head. I just pushed him to do something about what was in his head to begin with.” Billy sat down in front of his own plate of food. “I think they'd make a good couple.”  
“Frankly, so do I.”   
“Then we're in agreement, and support each others' matchmaking attempts.” Billy kissed him.   
Steve chuckled, and kissed him back with enthusiasm. They had a pleasant breakfast together, and also a pleasant cleanup afterwards. Steve knew something they needed to do today, that he'd planned with Joyce and Hopper last night, but that wasn't until everyone was back from work. They'd decided to do something for Billy that might go to shit, but he had a feeling Billy would appreciate the hell out of it even if it did fall through, as long as Steve got him there to witness it. But it was a surprise so he wouldn't tell him yet. They just needed to figure out what to do with their day before that. 

Half an hour after breakfast they were on their way to a matinee showing of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. They'd seen it in the city before, twice, because Billy had a thing for Gary Oldman, but they had time to kill and it was a really good movie. Steve hadn't told him why they needed to kill time, but Billy was willing to trust him when he said it was something good. The movie had been running long enough that most people were done watching it. Billy had been surprised it was still running in Hawkins. The movie theater they'd gone to in the city had stopped showing it a week before they left on their trip. Maybe some dude in charge in Hawkins really liked it. When they got there they had some time before the movie started, so they had a walk around while they had that last smoke before a couple of hours in the dark. Billy wasn't a fan of going that long without smoking when he was awake, but it wasn't like he died from it. After the smoke they got their tickets and their snacks, and went in to wait for the movie to start. There were a few people milling around outside, but there was no one in the theater when they entered it. When the room went dark and no one had come in, it became clear they were most likely going to watch this movie alone. Billy immediately had ideas, and none of them were decent and wholesome. He pulled Steve with him to seats that were slightly less lit up by the rays from the projector. Steve started to protest, but quickly caught on to what was on Billy's mind. By the time they sat down again Steve was grinning. The movie started, and for the first 15 minutes or so they watched it. Gary Oldman was ridiculously cute in this movie, in his adorable idiocy, and he spent the first part of it flipping a coin and having it come up heads every time. Tim Roth was clearly the brains of the two, with his deep musings about reality, whether he be Rosencrantz or Guildenstern. In Billy's opinion this was the best movie ever, in spite of all the Shakespearean language. Billy and Steve had been trying to play Questions together. It was difficult, but they were slowly getting it. Now it was time to play something else entirely, and Billy was okay with missing some of the movie in favor of it. He turned to Steve and pulled him into a kiss with no hesitation. 

This wasn't quite what Steve had expected when Billy suggested going to see a movie, but he was definitely not complaining. There was something dirty about fooling around in a dark theater, and something extra dirty about doing it during the day. They'd fooled around at the movie theater before, but hadn't done anything _really_ dirty. He wondered what Billy had in mind today. Billy broke the kiss long enough to whisper in Steve's ear.   
“Have you ever been sucked off at a movie theater before, pretty boy?”  
“Fuck... no.” Steve's whisper was nearly a pant.  
“You want today to be your first time?”  
“Fuck yes.”   
Steve had a feeling he was about to get his mind blown. Billy's blowjobs usually did that to him, and the setting for this one was going to make it even better. That they might get caught, and that would be terrible, and it was a fucking turn on. God, he was such a pervert. 

Billy's practiced fingers got Steve's dick out of his pants quickly. He was already hard as a brick, and Billy was getting there too. Doing these kinds of things with Steve turned him on to no end. Who would have thought Mr. Never-given-a-free-blowjob would turn into a guy who wanted to suck Steve off at damn near every opportunity? It was like he was addicted to having this guy's dick in his mouth. He didn't mind. There were worse things to be addicted to. Billy had tried a few of them. He got up briefly, so he could flip his seat up. Flip seats made blowjobs in theaters easier, since they made more room for kneeling. He wondered if the makers of the seats had had that in mind, or if it was just a happy little coincidence. It was probably the latter, but it was fun to think it might have been the other option. He got on his knees beside Steve's seat. He had to stretch some to reach properly, but he managed to get his lips on the gorgeous erection sticking out of Steve's pants. He heard Steve stifle a moan. That was one of the fun bits of doing things in places like this; the struggle to remain silent. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead did not offer much in terms of loud action sequences. Or any, come to think of it. There was a lot of talking, and some shouting, but it was very low on explosions and gunfire. They'd have to actually be quiet. Billy's goal was to make Steve fail at that. He licked around the head of Steve's dick, and sucked on the tip gently. He knew it wasn't what Steve had been expecting, and it would drive the dude mad if Billy kept it up. They technically had a time limit, but the movie was two hours long and they were barely half an hour into it. Getting off wasn't going to take anywhere near that long. A good enthusiastic fuck generally lasted less than ten minutes. Some people thought fucking was supposed to last more than half an hour, but Billy knew from experience most guys lasted about three minutes once the fucking started. He'd never had a complaint with that. Fucking was there to be a good time, not a long time. Though, given his job, it had rarely been a good time either. Being with Steve was different. Doing any kind of sexual thing with Steve was a damn good time from one end to the other. Billy emphasized his thought by sucking Steve's dick with more enthusiasm. 

Billy's mouth on his cock was starting to do interesting things. Steve was having a lot of trouble not being loud. It felt so fucking good. Steve took hold of Billy's hair and held tight. He pulled on it when Billy sucked hard. He wasn't sure it was to get him to let up or suck harder. Billy stopped sucking and instead licked up and down the shaft. He wasn't slow and gentle about it. He used the flat of his tongue, all of it. It felt incredible. Billy slid his fingers down Steve's pants, rubbing against his balls less than carefully. That felt fucking incredible too. He started sucking again and Steve found himself moving his hips to meet his movements. He wanted to just hold Billy's head in place and fuck him. He wouldn't. Not this time. He'd enjoy this, and let Billy decide, and try to not voice the moans that wanted to escape his throat. Stifling the sounds both turned him on more and stole enough of his concentration that he was taking longer to come. He was intensely aroused, both mentally and physically. Billy started sucking in intervals; a few quick sucks followed by a long one. Over and over. Steve covered his mouth with his free hand, trying to keep the moans in. They came out as stifled whimpers. He felt Billy smile, before he smoothly deep-throated him. God, it was such an insane thing to be able to do so effortlessly. Steve wanted to learn it, just so Billy could feel what it was like to have his whole damn cock sucked and swallowed around. Billy had told him it was a useless skill, but it sure as fuck didn't feel useless when Steve was on the receiving end of it. It felt fucking glorious. Billy let go of Steve's cock and licked the shaft again. He tilted his head and ran his teeth slowly up the underside of the cock. Steve whimpered through his fingers and shuddered. Billy raked his teeth back down, then sucked spots on his way up again; not quite hard enough to leave welts, but almost. Steve was losing his fucking mind. He had to bite his knuckles to stop from shouting. Billy slid his fingers deeper into Steve's pants. One finger reached his hole and rubbed it. It didn't quite push in, but it came close, over and over. Steve's arousal ramped up even more. His whole body tensed as the prelude to his orgasm took hold. The tip of the finger pushed in and Steve fucking lost it. He came like a fucking truck. He clamped both hands over his mouth, but was fairly sure he was still loud. Billy sucked and licked up all that came out of him, then got up and sat back down on his seat. Steve was panting, and still high. 

Billy looked sideways at Steve, and how dazed and happy he looked. It felt really fucking great to be able to do that to him. Billy would be happy all the way through, if he wasn't hard as fucking concrete. He took out his dick and started jerking off. Not quickly, but fast enough for it to do the job. He looked at Steve's disheveled state, and it turned him on. He wondered if Steve was even aware of how gorgeous he was. Probably not. Billy was going to convince him. Not today, but eventually he was going to make Steve aware of his status as an insanely gorgeous motherfucker. Steve looked over at him. He looked unfocused until he noticed what Billy was doing. He sat up abruptly and stopped Billy's hand.   
“Wait a second, hot stuff,” he whispered.   
“I'm dying, pretty boy. Whatever you have in mind, do it fast.”  
Steve reached into his back pocket and pulled out a condom. Billy looked at the wrapper. Caramel flavor. Bloody fuck, Steve was not only a gorgeous motherfucker, he was an awesome motherfucker. Steve did what Billy had done and flipped up his seat. Billy grabbed the condom from him to put it on himself, just for something to do while Steve got in position. He was so turned on his skin was tingling. Just the thought of Steve going down on him in the theater was almost enough to make him come. He'd gone down on so many people in dark places, but hadn't once had someone go down on him in the same way. Steve was about to, because Steve was incredible, and was making all Billy's dreams come true without even asking what they were first. As soon as the condom was on, Steve leaned in and sucked in as much of Billy's dick as he could in one go. Billy's head fell back, and he only just remembered he needed to be quiet before he groaned out loud. Steve wasted no time messing around. He bobbed his head up and down as he sucked eagerly. It made Billy feel wanted. Steve _wanted_ to suck his dick. To make him come from it. It was such a turn on to know that. Steve slid fingers into Billy's pants, in a mimic of what Billy had done to him. Billy spread his legs as much as the seat would allow him, which wasn't much, given the size of his thigh muscles. It was enough that Steve could reach in and cup his balls less than gently. He pushed further until his middle finger reached his hole and his other fingers cupped the bulge underneath the balls, and less-than-gently became roughly. At the same time he sucked hard enough to hurt, like he was trying to turn the entire head of Billy's dick into a hickey. Billy forgot himself and released a breathless moan, before he shuddered and came. Steve kept sucking, less hard now, until Billy's body stopped jerking. He sat up and looked Billy in the eyes. There was enough light from the screen that they could lock gazes. Billy grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him. They made out until a shout from the movie reminded them of where they were. They tucked themselves in and straightened their clothing. Billy had a long drink of soda and ate some popcorn, like any normal dude watching a movie. Steve leaned in sideways and whispered to him, as if he was worried he'd disturb other people in the room.   
“What do you call someone who gets off on hurting?”  
“A pain slut,” Billy answered, before catching himself. “Shut up.”  
“I was just asking,” Steve said, with a grin wide enough to show he had not just been asking.   
“Don't push it, Harrington, or I'll turn you into one.”  
“I think one pain slut is enough for one relationship.” Steve popped some popcorn in his mouth, from Billy's tub, and chewed smugly.   
“You implying something there, buddy?” Billy tried to sound threatening, but his heart wasn't in it.   
Steve leaned all the way in towards Billy's ear, so he could breathe his whisper into it.   
“Next time I'll bite.”   
Billy had to actually bite his lip to not voice the fucking sound of anticipation that bubbled up in him. Fuck everything. 

When the movie was over they discreetly deposited the condom in the trash and went out into the sun. It was one of those spring days that pretend to be summer. The kind that make you think summer is getting closer, before dumping another load of snow on your head. It was weird being out in the sun again after what they'd just done inside in the dark. Steve had an irrational feeling that somehow people knew. He knew it was bullshit, but it was there anyway. They'd checked each other over before leaving the movie theater, just to make sure they didn't look all disheveled. There had been no come flying around to stain their clothes, which made things easier. Steve checked the time, and decided they had time for a meal at the diner before going to the agreed upon place at the right time. It was okay if they were a late. They wouldn't be part of it, most likely, but he wanted Billy to see it. They decided on healthy options for the meal. Waffle with whipped cream and ice cream, pie with whipped cream, milkshake, and coffee. Watching Billy eat sweet things wasn't good for Steve's sanity, even when he'd recently come. It was like watching a softcore porno movie. They talked about what to do when they got home. Billy was trying to convince him to go back to school. To pursue that teaching dream he'd been nursing for years. Steve wasn't completely opposed to the idea. Sure, it would suck to try to juggle both a job and studying, because no way would he get any kind of scholarship that would let him not work while going to school, but he could probably pull it off. There wouldn't be much time to go out with Billy, but he was 100% sure that wouldn't come anywhere near ending what they had together. It felt too solid for that to happen. They'd just find other ways to hang out. Hell, sometime during it they might end up living together. That was definitely not something Steve was completely against. They weren't ready to do that yet, but it was a nice thing to think about. He suggested to Billy that he should go to school to become a chef. That way they would have the excuse of studying together. Billy held out his hand immediately.   
“Deal. Let's fucking go for it.”  
Steve shook it without even thinking. After a moment's consideration he concluded with “why the fuck not?”. He'd probably think about it too much, and try to talk himself out of it, but having shook on it would go a long way to pushing anxiety away. The two of them figuring shit out together, and fucking going for it, was fucking fantastic incentive. There was a lot of shit to figure out, but they had time. They didn't necessarily have to go for it this year. There was also the option of changing their minds. He felt stupid for already looking at the option of not doing it, but it kept it from feeling too big; like too much to agree to almost on a whim. They could talk more about it when they got home. He checked his watch again. It was time to get going. 

Billy had no idea where they were going, or what they were going to do when he got there. He knew it had been planned last night while he'd been busy bullying Will into asking Dustin out, and that it probably had something to do with the call Joyce had made, but that was it. He sat quietly in the passenger seat while Steve drove, until he realized they were getting close to where he used to live.   
“Steve? Where the fuck are we going?”   
“Uh,” he said, with obvious hesitation, “to your dad's place.”  
“No, we're fucking not.” Billy got instantly angry. He didn't want it to be fear that did it, but it might be. “Why the fuck would I want to go anywhere near there?”  
“Chill, dude.” Steve held up a placating hand. “We're not going to go talk to the guy.”  
“Then why the fuck are we going there?” Billy didn't get less angry. He didn't _want_ to be less angry.   
“You'll see when we get there.”  
“I don't want to see when we get there.” Billy turned in his seat to face Steve and pointed at him, barely resisting the urge to actually poke him with it to make a point. “I want to know right the fuck now why the fuck we're going to that asshole's place.”  
“We are going to go see how good of an impression you've made on the people we've met during our stay here.” Steve was completely calm, and smiled a small smile as he said it.   
“That doesn't make sense.” Billy's anger faded because of confusion. That smile confused him.   
“It will in a moment. We're almost there.”  
Steve drove until they could see the front of the house, but then stopped. Billy was confused by what he saw. By the front door, talking to Neil, were Hopper, Joyce, and Susan. By the curb stood the Goonies. Max was closer to the house than the rest of them, halfway across the lawn, with Lucas right behind her. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but his father didn't look happy about it.   
“Steve, what the fuck is going on?”  
“They're tying to get you your car back.” He sounded cheerful, and proud.   
“What?” Billy looked at Steve, not fully comprehending what he'd just said.   
“They wanted to do something nice for you, since you're a cool dude, and you've been helping Will. So, last night we talked about it, and I may have suggested getting your car back from Neil would be a good idea.” He grinned cheekily. “They agreed, and Joyce called Susan so she could be backup. Susan feels really bad for not backing you up when you were younger. It was a good chance for her to try to make up for it a little bit. I didn't know the kids were going to be here, though.”   
Billy was overwhelmed. Up until a week ago all he'd ever been to these people was a piece of shit, and here they were facing down his dad for him. Maybe it wasn't a big thing for them, but to him it was massive. Steve hadn't noticed how affected Billy was by this, and kept talking.   
“If they can't do it I might just go threaten the fucker myself. That Camaro is a thing of beauty, and you deserve to have it.” 

Billy looked at Steve silently. He didn't even realize Billy's world was being shifted; he just looked at the people out there, with an expression of cheery hopefulness on his face. He thought they were going to pull it off. That Neil would cave to the pressure. Billy knew they were doing something absolutely fucking amazing for him, but right now all he could think about was Steve. This fucking dork had put this idea in their heads. He'd put this idea in their heads, and planned it with them, and taken Billy to the movies while they waited for everyone to get home from work. Then he'd fucking sucked Billy's dick just for fun in the middle of it. Steve was crazy, and awesome, and perverted, and he did nice things for Billy for no other reason than that he wanted to. He didn't impose anything on him, or demand anything from him. He accepted Billy as he was, flaws and all, and there were a lot of fucking flaws to accept. Steve was... fucking Steve. That was what he was. Steve motherfucking Harrington, and he was the most incredible person Billy had ever had in his life. And...  
“I love you.”   
Steve whipped his head around to look at him. “What?”  
“I love you. And I don't mean in a 'this is fucking awesome, and I love it' kind of way. I really fucking love you. This isn't the right time or place to tell you, but I've been thinking about it a while. I've been _feeling_ it for a while.” Billy was aware he was rambling, but couldn't stop himself from saying the words now that he'd started. “I fucking love you. So much I don't even know what to do about it, other than to tell you.”   
Steve said nothing. He just sat there with his mouth slightly open. Billy wondered if he'd just made a big mistake in telling him. He was trying to think of something to say to fix it when Steve leaned over and pulled him into a kiss. It was a kiss that could only be described as tender. It was full of feelings. Not just Billy's feelings, but also Steve's, even though he hadn't told Billy what they were. Billy was trembling, on the inside more than the outside. He'd just bared himself in a way he never had before. In a way he'd spent most of his life thinking he never would. Steve pulled back and looked Billy in the eyes. He gently held Billy's face with both hands, like he was something precious. Billy didn't say anything. He wasn't sure he had words left. Steve smiled, with that look in his eyes Billy had seen before, but hadn't been able to put a name on.   
“I love you too.” He kept hold of Billy's face, making sure they kept eye contact. “I've been feeling it a while too. I haven't been able to find the guts to tell you, in case you didn't like it. That you'd think I was moving too fast, or too far. Fuck, you're so incredible. How could I not love you?” The last was said with awe in his voice. He kissed Billy again, and for a while they forgot about the people outside. 

A knock on the driver's side window brought Steve brutally back to reality. Fuck. He looked out to find Hopper looking at them disapprovingly. Steve rolled down the window.   
“What did I tell you about being indecent in the car in Hawkins?”  
“Kissing isn't indecent,” Billy immediately interjected.   
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” He leaned down and tossed a set of keys in Billy's lap. “Car's yours.”  
“How the fuck did you manage that?” Billy burst out. He quickly collected himself when he saw a displeased look on Hopper's face. “Sorry. How did you do it?”   
“Some careful and rational persuasion,” Hopper said with a smile, that quickly turned to a smirk. “And maybe some threats to unleash the Hawkins gossip machine on him. Mike's mom likes telling people interesting news, and she knows a lot of people to tell.”   
“He always did care a lot about appearances.” Billy shrugged and didn't roll his eyes like he wanted to.   
“Anyway, he caved. You take the car now. We'll make sure he does the paperwork.”  
Max popped up behind Hopper.   
“I can take this car if you want to take the Camaro for a spin. You should totally take it for a spin.” She grinned at them. Max had her license, but didn't have her own car.   
Steve quickly opened his door. “Come on, hot stuff. Let's see if the Camaro makes you clinically insane on the road again.”  
“It better not,” Hopper threatened.   
“Don't worry, Chief Hopper,” Billy said as he exited Steve's car. “I'll drive it carefully and within the speed limit.”  
“See that you do.”   
They jogged together over to the car and got in. Billy ran his hands over the steering wheel and the dashboard.   
“Hey, baby. Daddy's back.”  
“That sounds so dirty.”   
Billy looked over his shoulder to what passed as a back seat.   
“I think this car is even worse than your Benz for doing dirty stuff in.”  
“We could always do it on the hood.”  
“I like how you think, pretty boy.” Billy started the car and showed off the engine sound a few times, before putting it in gear and reversing out onto the street.   
Driving at the speed limit lasted until Hopper's police cruiser was out of sight. Steve didn't complain. The guy was entitled to some fun after being without his 'baby' for so long. They kept to the back roads, where Billy could speed without worrying about running someone over. Steve took it as a sign he was more sensible and less clinically insane. They drove around for half an hour before Billy drove back to Hopper and Joyce's place. He said he didn't want to push it too much until he'd had a chance to look the car over properly. Steve predicted Billy would be busy the rest of the day, and evening, and tomorrow until they had to leave for home. When they got there Hopper's, Joyce's, Lucas', and Steve's car were parked in the driveway and on the street. They'd left a space for Billy's car in the driveway. Steve was willing to bet it was because they had predicted Billy being glued to the car the rest of the stay too. Max came out of the house, followed by Lucas, and handed Steve his keys. She and Lucas started for his car, but Billy stopped them.   
“Hey Max.”  
“Yeah?” She looked at Billy with a suspicious look on her face.   
“I can't take this car home. I live in a really bad neighborhood. It would get stolen the first night.”  
“That sucks.” She looked sympathetic, but also confused about why he was telling her this.   
“You come pick up the keys to it tomorrow before we leave.”  
“What?” Confusion turned to pure shock.   
“Don't think I'm giving it to you.” Billy held up his finger in a 'wait' movement. “You get to borrow it until I figure out how to keep it in the city.”  
“Whoa.”  
“Think of it as an apology for treating you like shit before.” He shrugged, but Steve saw it was more important to him than he tried to give the impression of.   
“Whoa,” she repeated, then shook her head as if to clear it. “I mean, I don't need an apology for it. I know why you did it.”  
“It was still a shitty thing to do, so come take the damn keys tomorrow.” Billy put some exasperation in his voice. Steve could tell it was on purpose, and not something Billy actually felt.   
“Okay.” She nodded obediently.   
“And be sure you treat the car right. If you crash it, I swear to god...” He let it hang.   
Lucas leveled a threatening finger at Billy, but didn't say anything. Steve found it cute, and cool, especially since it made Billy grin.   
“I won't crash it. I promise.” She did a little bow with her hands together. “I'll take good care of it. Not so much as a scratch.”  
“Good. See you tomorrow then.” He smiled at her.   
“Yeah, totally. We're all coming to see you off.” She smiled back at Billy, then looked at the Camaro again. “Whoa.”   
As they walked away Steve heard Lucas say “zoomer”. 

Billy really wanted to pop the hood on the car immediately. He wondered how rude it would be to spend a couple of hours checking the car over, and seeing how much maintenance it needed. Max had told him it hadn't been driven, so damage should be minimal, but he needed to check the levels of various fluids, at the very least. It could do with a clean too, but he could tell Max to do that when he handed the keys over. He hadn't planned on giving her the keys, but when he saw her exit Hopper's house it had seemed like the right thing to do. He didn't know if she had her own car, but no matter what it was, the Camaro was more awesome and deserved to be driven more. He might not be able to get the car home to the city until he moved some day. Crapville was not a place to have a car like that. Even with connections that car would be stolen in no time, and Billy didn't have connections. He slid his hand along the roof of the Camaro.. He couldn't believe he had her back. It was something he'd never thought would happen. Steve came up to him and put a discreet hand on Billy's lower back.   
“You want to check the car out, don't you?”  
“I'm not gonna lie, I really fucking do.” Billy nodded repeatedly.  
“That's fine.” Steve rubbed Billy's back affectionately, while not making the movements obvious to anyone who might be watching. “I think everyone's expecting you to, and are cool with it.”  
“Yeah?” Billy turned to face him, and immediately missed the hand on the small of his back.   
“If not I'll make them cool with it.” Steve grinned.   
“Thanks.” Billy smiled, and wanted to kiss him.   
“But, before you start, I want to see you in private.”  
“Yeah?” Billy gave him a suggestive grin.   
“Not for sex, asshole,” Steve said with fake exasperation.   
“Lead the way.” Billy swept his arm out to say “after you”.   
They went straight to the bedroom they'd been sharing while in Hawkins. Steve quietly closed the door behind them. Billy faced him.   
“So what did you want to talk about?”  
“I didn't say I wanted to talk.” Steve stepped up to him and kissed him.   
Billy let himself be kissed for a second before kissing back. This kiss was not a prelude to sex. This kiss was a confirmation they'd both meant what they'd said in the car earlier. Billy sure as fuck had, and judging by the way he was being kissed now, Steve had too. He'd never known how much feeling you could convey with joined lips and tongue, and gentle hands that touched instead of groped. They said more than words could, but now that Billy had voiced his feelings it was like he felt more. Like his feelings were purer, and more intense. He really, completely and utterly, fucking loved this guy. They broke the kiss and just held each other a while. Right at this moment Billy felt he could take on whatever the world wanted to throw at him, because he loved Steve, and, holy shit, Steve loved him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured I should probably warn people now that chapter 19 will be the final chapter. I haven't written it yet, but I know that's how much story is left to put down. I apologize in advance if the chapter ends up being a little late. It's giving me a lot of trouble. I guess the guys don't want it to end any more than I do.


	19. Chapter 19

It was Tuesday, and Steve was humming to himself while getting things ready for his weekly date with Billy. They met up other times too, generally whenever they had a chance, but Tuesday had become a day they always met. Sometimes they went out, but mostly they stayed in, and enjoyed each other's company. It had ended up being Tuesday, because Billy was still a prostitute and Tuesdays were typically slow nights on the street. It was the perfect day for him to take off to do other things, and as long as they didn't get shitfaced it didn't matter to Steve which night of the week it was. Tonight they were going to hang out in Steve's apartment, and Steve had every hope Billy would spend the night. He usually did, and Steve dropped him off at a convenient bus stop on the way to work in the morning. Steve had rented Re-Animator for the occasion. When they'd talked movies last time Billy had talked about it, and it had made Steve curious enough that when he happened across it when out looking for a movie for tonight, he'd picked it up. It was supposed to be a horror comedy, so that could be interesting. A horror comedy that involved resurrecting dead bodies, so it definitely had potential. But, no matter what the movie was about, he would be watching it with Billy, and that meant it would be a fun experience. Even shit movies were fun with Billy. 

He checked his watch. It was almost time to go pick up Billy, who was taking the bus, so Steve could have more time to get stuff done after work. Unfortunately there were no reasonable connections between Crapville and Steve's part of the city, so he had to go pick him up at a bus stop. It was a considerably shorter trip than picking him up at home. Steve wouldn't have minded picking him up from Crapville, but Billy had told him he didn't like always making Steve drive that far out of his way. It was a pride thing. Steve understood. Some day, maybe not too far into the future, Billy would have his own car to drive around in. He was slowly getting his shit in order, but to collect the Camaro and have it be reasonably safe at night he'd probably have to move. He wasn't ready to move yet, and not just for financial reasons. By all accounts Max was taking good care of the car, so Billy wasn't stressing about it. She'd even been learning mechanics, so she could do various maintenance herself. Lucas claimed she spent more time with the car than with him now. Billy said that was how it should be. Billy was much better at managing his money now, primarily because he had incentive to actually make the effort. He'd gotten a phone and a savings account. Steve fucking loved the phone. They got to talk more often, and phone sex was a thing. A thing they engaged in probably more than was reasonable. Only thing Steve wasn't thrilled about was that Billy worked more now, to get more money to save. It was good that he was saving money to go to school, and other stuff, but Steve would be lying if he said he was happy that more people were fucking his boyfriend, even if it was just work. He wasn't jealous, and he didn't for a moment think even a single one of those fucks meant anything more than money for Billy, but it wasn't exactly an ideal situation. But, if it got Billy through school so he could finally do something else with his life, Steve could live with it. When he stopped to think about it, it wasn't all that hard to live with, and on days he particularly didn't like it he imagined Billy as a chef, sometime in the future. Sometimes, usually when they were less than sober, they'd imagine the future with their new jobs. Their imaginings always took them back to Hawkins. Steve as a teacher at Hawkins middle school, and Billy running a small cafe with Jane. They'd have a suburban house together, and everyone would be cool with it, and the kids would visit whenever they wanted. They'd have backyard barbecues with everyone gathered. Steve pushed away a stray thought of his parents, who probably wouldn't be part of any of that. He had yet to hear from them, but it was getting progressively easier to live with it. He still had family. Rather than dwell on it he went back to thinking about his imaginary future with Billy. They'd have the Camaro, and Steve's new car, whatever that would be. They'd discuss whether to get a dog or a couple of cats, or both. And lots of stupid sappy stuff they wouldn't voice unless they could blame having had too much to drink. Steve loved those talks, and he knew Billy felt the same, even though neither had said it out loud. He smiled to himself as he checked his watch again. It was time to get moving. 

When he saw Steve's car roll up, Billy took his cigarettes out in preparation. It had become a sort of custom to have a cigarette together on the drive to Steve's apartment. It was Billy's turn to pick the music for it. He'd brought Rush today, partly because he knew it was something Steve liked, and partly because he'd heard rumors a new album was coming out soon. It had put him in the mood. When the music hit the speakers he saw Steve grin. Billy told him about the rumors of a new album, and his grin widened. He told Billy he already knew, due to the Rush fanatic he worked with. Billy chuckled. He should have known. On the way they stopped to satisfy a sudden ice cream craving Steve developed. Billy liked that they did this stuff. Impulse boyfriend stuff, that wasn't necessarily sexual in nature. They bought a tub of ice cream, and an extra ice cream cone. Billy drove the rest of the way so Steve could eat the cone. It was difficult to focus on the road when a very hot guy was eating an ice cream next to you, and you saw the licking from the corner of your eye. Billy was sure Steve was making sounds of pleasure, but the music drowned it out. He didn't turn the music off to check, even though he wanted to. When they got to the apartment, Billy was pleasantly surprised when he saw the movie Steve had picked. He was such a goddamn sweet person, when he wanted to be. Sometimes when he didn't want to be too. Billy quickly pulled him into a kiss, and Steve immediately melted into it. Kissing Steve like this, just out of the blue, never got old. Not even remotely. Billy could kiss him for fucking ever. They kissed for a long time, before Steve broke the kiss and told Billy they needed to start watching the movie, because he had plans for later. He refused to say what those plans were, so Billy obediently sat down to watch the movie. 

There was a small jitter in Steve's stomach. He was nervous about later tonight, but also very excited. He'd thought it would distract him from enjoying the movie, but it was actually the other way around that happened. The movie distracted him from being nervous. It was a very entertaining movie. It wasn't the kind of comedy that made him laugh out loud, but the movie didn't take itself seriously, so even gory things ended up being fun. Jeffrey Combs was great. Steve was going to check out other things the guy had done. 

After the movie they talked for a while, facing each other on the couch; touching whenever one of them wanted to, which was often. Billy had talked to Will today. One of the first things Billy had done after getting a phone was to tell Steve to give his number to Will. The two of them had really connected during their stay in Hawkins, and Will turned to Billy when he needed to talk about things, like being gay. He also talked to Billy about Dustin. Dustin on the other hand talked to Steve about Will. Steve and Billy talked to each other about the both of them. Dustin had said yes to the date Will had asked him on, and two dates later they had announced to everyone they were boyfriends. Lucas' reaction had been to burst out “that was about fucking time”, and that had been the strongest reaction to it. Everyone was just as cool about them as they were about any of the other couples in the group, which was how it should be. It was what Steve had expected. Dustin had also helped Will come out to his mom, and that had gone pretty much exactly as well as both Steve and Billy had predicted. Joyce was totally cool with it. Will had called Billy in a state of mortification the first time Joyce had teased him about Dustin. Billy had told him to suck it up and let his mom have some fun. Will had grudgingly agreed, as long as she didn't do it in public. Steve was looking forward to seeing Will and Dustin together. To see Will relaxed and not trying to hide what he was or how he felt. Steve was sure it was adorable. That thought made him wonder if he and Billy were adorable. He suspected they were, and he was okay with it. 

It was going to take a while before he could see the kids again. They would be busy with school. He would be busy too. He was going to be busy for a long time, if everything went well. He was going to take some classes so he could improve his grades before applying for a school that would let him become a teacher. His grades were probably good enough to get into a school, but he wanted them to be better. He also wanted to make sure he had the ground work under control before going for higher education. He hadn't gone to school in a few years. He was looking forward to it, even though juggling work, classes, and Billy would take a toll. Billy would be busy too. James had come through for him and gotten him into a program that would let him train to be a chef. It was awesome. They were going to work at improving their lives together, and it would be totally cool. It would be a crapload of work, but it would be worth it. He looked at Billy and wondered what it would be like. He pulled Billy into a conversation about what things would be like when going to school at the same time. Steve suggested Billy practice his cooking by making dinner for the two of them, like, all the time. Billy stuck out his tongue at him. Even though he had done it mostly unconsciously, Steve knew he had started the conversation because he didn't quite know how to ask Billy what he wanted to ask him. He could just come straight out and say it, but that wasn't really his style, was it? Billy knew him well already, so he could obviously tell something was up, because it didn't take long before he paused their talking.   
“So, what's up, pretty boy? What's on your mind?”   
“You can tell, huh?” Steve smiled at him, feeling like he was being paid attention to.   
“Of course I can.” Billy gently kissed him.   
The amount of kissing they did on a regular basis was incredible, and Steve had absolutely no wish to change it. When they broke the kiss again Billy looked at him expectantly, but didn't say anything. Steve took a breath and decided to just say it straight out, more or less. Mostly less.   
“Well, I've been thinking.”  
“You do that a lot, not that it helps much.” Billy stuck out his tongue and winked at him.   
“Screw you, asshole.” They both broke into grins before Steve even finished the last word.   
“What have you been thinking about?” Billy turned serious again. Interested.   
“The whole gay thing.”   
“I like that you keep calling it the gay thing.” Billy smiled. It wasn't mocking.   
“It still feels sort of new, even though it's not.” Steve shrugged.   
“I know. What about it?” He touched Steve's arm gently. It wasn't an encouragement; it was a simple touch of affection.   
“There's something I haven't tried yet, and I sort of want to. I mean, definitely want to.” Steve hesitated, but he'd already decided before even going to pick Billy up, so he went on. “Like, tonight.”   
“I might know where you're going with this.” Billy's smile widened.   
“Yeah?” Steve looked at him hopefully.   
“I'm not going to bail you out of this one, pretty boy.” Billy winked at him. “If you want it you have to say it. Out loud.”  
“Yeah, okay, fuck it.” Steve paused to take another steeling breath, then rushed into it. “I want to try to bottom.”   
Billy smiled in a way that was an interesting combination of knowing, amused, aroused, warm, and delighted.   
“Any particular reason you want to try it?”  
“Curiosity, I guess.” Steve took Billy's hand, partly to keep from becoming fidgety. “And it sort of feels like it would complete the journey.”  
“What journey?”  
“Going full gay.” Steve winced slightly as he said it. It wasn't a good way of putting it, but he couldn't think of better words to use.   
“Have I told you lately that you're weird and adorable?” Billy burst into snickers. “Because you are.”   
Steve stuck out his tongue at him.   
“You're _not_ full gay, remember?” Billy continued, and winked again.   
“Doesn't really matter now. It's not like I want anyone but you.” Steve took a moment to enjoy the look of love that bloomed on Billy's face. There was nothing better in the world than having Billy look at him in that way. “So it's not that I want to go full gay in general. I want to with you. I want to feel what it's like.”   
“From the 'gay thing' to 'going full gay'. You have a way with words, Harrington.” Billy grinned.   
Steve knew part of Billy wanted to hide how he felt, because the idiot still had issues with feeling good things, and admitting he was feeling them. It was a subconscious thing. Steve was helping him with that. He just needed some time.   
“You know what I mean.” Steve waved it away.   
“I do know what you mean, and you have no fucking idea how absolutely fucking delighted I would be to take on that last leg of your journey.” He paused, grinned, then added, “toward full gay.”  
“You love making fun of me, don't you?” Steve mock glared at him.   
“When you're being this cute? Damn straight.”   
Steve scoffed. Billy responded by kissing him again. 

They kissed for a while on the couch, not rushing it or trying to arouse one another. Billy wanted everything from here on out to happen at Steve's pace, and at his wishes. This was big, in a way his own first experiences hadn't been. It wasn't just big for Steve. It was big for Billy too; to be allowed to be part of this and share it. Steve broke the kiss, and looked into Billy's eyes. Billy's stomach tingled at the warmth he saw in them. As if by unspoken agreement they both got up. Billy quietly followed Steve to the bedroom. Steve went over to his stereo and pressed play. Talk Talk's “It's my Life” started up on low volume. Steve looked at Billy sheepishly.  
“The thought of the only sounds in the room being me making weird noises kinda turned me off, so I made a tape.”   
Billy did not voice how cute he thought that was. Instead he kissed Steve again.   
“There better not be any power ballads in there, Harrington.”  
Steve scoffed and grinned.   
“I guess you're going to find out.”  
“I might go limp.” Billy took a step back and pointed to his own crotch.   
“There are no power ballads in there.” Steve placed his arms over Billy's shoulders and pulled him close. “I remembered how much you like them.”   
“I feel loved.” Billy said it in a way that suggested a joke, but wasn't. Steve made him feel loved all the time. Billy hoped he did the same back.   
Steve kissed him again. It was like he was using it to deal with being nervous. Billy wasn't complaining. He started calmly and unhurriedly undressing Steve, who did the same in return. Soon they stood naked in each other's arms. Billy stroked his fingers through Steve's hair.  
“You ready for this, pretty boy?”  
“I'm probably more ready than you think.” Steve's eyes quickly flicked to the side of the bed and back.   
“Would this happen to have something to do with the neat little item hidden in your bedside drawer?” Billy grinned. He knew exactly what Steve was thinking about. He'd found it ages ago.   
“Of course you know about it.” Steve made a show of rolling his eyes.   
“You left me alone. What was I supposed to do? Not snoop?” Billy grinned.   
“You know, most people are able to do just that.” Steve gave him a fake disapproving look.   
“I'm not most people.” He smiled unapologetically.   
“That much is abundantly clear.” Steve smiled back.  
“Are you complaining?” Billy spoke low and leaned in, close enough to kiss but not quite closing the distance.   
“Absolutely not.” Steve closed the distance for him.   
When they broke the kiss Billy looked at him and smiled.   
“It does make things easier. Providing you've used it.” He raised an eyebrow. He was curious to see how quickly Steve admitted to it, but didn't really expect any denial.   
“A few times.” Steve shrugged. “I just wanted to try it. I doubt it's like the real deal.”  
“It isn't, but it makes the real deal easier, and quicker, to get to.” Billy gently slid his hands down Steve's sides until they were on his hips.   
“Good. I'm all for easier” Steve moved his hands up to slowly slide his fingers along Billy's neck, over and over.   
“And quicker?”  
“That depends on how good it feels.” Steve smiled suggestively, not that either of them needed much suggestion in the current situation.   
“I'll make sure it's fucking amazing.” Billy slid his hands around Steve's body to grab his ass. He squeezed.   
“Then you can take as long as you want.” He tightened his muscles against Billy's hands. 

Billy guided Steve along with him until they were both lying down on the bed. Before Steve could do anything more Billy quickly moved to get what was in the bedside drawer. There was a bottle of lube, some condoms, and a smallish dark blue dildo. He looked at it.   
“This thing is cute.”  
“I didn't want to go overboard.” Steve felt mildly embarrassed, and hoped it didn't show too much.   
“I can't believe you bought something like this.” Billy grinned, but he was clearly not making fun.   
“I said it was for my girlfriend.” Steve grinned back at Billy. “Even asked for advice to make it sound more believable.” It had been a horribly embarrassing experience, even with the excuse.   
“Think they believed you?” Billy lay down next to Steve, then moved so he could reach Steve's chest with his lips.   
“Doesn't really matter, I guess. The guy sold it to me without comment.” Steve turned to Billy, not content to be a passive receiver, and ran a hand along his arm. “I choose to think he believed my cover story that I am a good, and sexually adventurous, boyfriend.”  
“You actually are both of those.” Billy licked Steve's collarbone. “A very good boyfriend, and you're _very_ sexually adventurous.”  
Steve made a little sound of pleasure, and it made him ever so slightly concerned about the sounds he was going to make when they really got going. He touched Billy's neck and quickly let the concern fade. He was cool with letting Billy hear even the most embarrassing sounds he could make. 

Billy gently pushed Steve onto his back and straddled him, then kissed and licked his way slowly down his body. Billy wanted to taste and touch every part of Steve, and he wanted the other man to be relaxed and into it, so he took his time. He sucked on Steve's nipples, and idly wondered if he could convince the man to pierce them. He'd suggest a navel piercing too, but he already knew that would be entirely too “gay” for Steve's taste. Billy considered his own navel, and whether it was too gay for his own taste. Probably not, truth be told, but he'd never show it to anyone except Steve. It was an idea for later, maybe. He ran his nails over Steve's stomach, leaving red stripes in their wake, then he licked along the stripes, each one individually. Steve squirmed on the mattress. As he moved around, Billy felt Steve's hard dick rub against his stomach and chest. He was going to taste that too. Just not yet. Billy moved down until he was sitting between Steve's legs. He lifted one leg at a time, kissing and licking the inside of it; sometimes biting gently. Steve was panting now, and unable to lie still.   
“Billy...”  
“Mmm?”  
“Stop fucking around. I'm dying.” The words came out strained.   
“No.” Billy bit the inside of Steve's thigh, a lot less gently than he had so far. Steve jerked in response, and fell silent. “Don't worry, pretty boy, there's no rule saying you only get to come once.”   
Billy licked over the spot he'd just bitten, then bit again, closer to Steve's groin this time. He made his way to Steve's groin like this, biting and licking a line along Steve's thigh, until he was close enough that he had to move Steve's testicles to get the final bite in. Steve's moans had gotten progressively louder, and now his entire body tensed up, and his back arched off the bed. Instead of soothing the bite with his tongue, Billy sucked on the spot until a hickey formed, then made a matching hickey on the other side. Then he pushed the flat of his tongue firmly against the base of Steve's dick and licked all the way up to the head, then back down. Steve gasped, so Billy did it again. And again. He licked until he'd tasted every single little spot of Steve's dick. By then Steve was practically vibrating, and pre-come was leaking from his dick. Billy licked it all up before it could drip anywhere. It tasted better than sperm, though Billy was intending to sample both tonight. He planned on making Steve come at least twice. Once during prep, most likely with his mouth. The other when Billy was balls deep in him. The only thing Billy could think of that was more of a turn on than that, was to have Steve be balls deep in him. Billy might have spent a lot of time being a testosterone driven macho asshole, but that didn't change the fact he loved being the bottom. Especially with Steve. He looked at the disheveled panting mess of a man, and thought this way was cool too. Awesome, in fact. He went back to licking. 

Steve was going insane, slowly, but intensely. Billy's tongue was so talented, it was probably illegal in twelve states. Whatever nervousness he might have felt had faded into oblivion; replaced by pure want and a need to come. He didn't know if that had been Billy's plan, or if the fucker was just having fun. He liked to think it was the latter. Billy being considerate of him, and trying to make him feel good was an appealing thought, but Billy forgetting himself and just enjoying himself with Steve's body was an even more appealing one. Steve liked feeling like Billy wanted him. It was thankfully something he got to experience frequently. Every time he was with Billy, in fact. He hoped he got Billy to feel the same in return, because Steve really fucking wanted Billy, all the fucking time. Billy's talented tongue moved to his balls, and Steve was reminded again not just of how much he wanted Billy, but also how much he needed to come. Like, yesterday. He also needed to have his cock sucked, and not just licked. Billy lifted Steve's legs, and left him momentarily bewildered, until that amazing tongue licked over his hole. Holy fucking hell, that was something else. Up until this moment Steve had had no idea how goddamn sensitive that particular spot was. He had a second of thought on the fact it was Billy's _tongue_ down there, but the pleasure quickly put a cork in that line of thinking. Billy licked, and actually fucking _sucked_ , and Steve crossed over into senseless. It felt so fucking incredible. Steve didn't even try to hold back any moans or embarrassing sounds. Billy slowly, but firmly, pushed his tongue in. Steve's entire body shuddered. How could he have dated Billy for so long and not fucking known about this? This crazy level of sensation shooting through him. Billy's tongue was slick, firm, and hot. Steve was going to come any second. He just knew it. Billy reached up and took firm hold of Steve's cock, and that was all it took. He came, with Billy's tongue in him, and it was fucking fantastic. 

Feeling Steve's hole pulse around his tongue gave Billy good expectations for what was coming up next. He didn't give the other man pause to come down from his orgasm. Instead he slicked up his fingers with lube and gently pushed one into him. The inner muscles twitched at the intrusion, but Steve's relaxed state, and the recent pulsing, made it easier. Billy moved his finger in in increments, until all of it was in. Then he repeated it with two fingers. It was easier this time. He moved his fingers in and out a few times, until Steve showed clear signs he was enjoying it. Instead of trying three fingers he switched to the little blue dildo. As he pushed it in he leaned forward and sucked Steve's dick into his mouth. Steve let out a breathy moan and shuddered. He wasn't quite hard again after recently having come, but he was already getting there. Billy could tell Steve had used the toy before, though probably not much. There was less resistance than he had expected, both to his fingers and the toy. It was a good thing. It let Steve enjoy it more. If you weren't like Billy, pain was a good way to ruin a moment. Fuck, he still didn't like admitting, even to himself, that pain got him off. Even though it wasn't all pain and not all the time, some pain and some times was bad enough. Steve was the only one who knew, so it could be worse. His secret was safe, with the only man he trusted with it. Billy sucked rhythmically while moving the toy in and out of Steve. Steve made some attempts to push back, but he didn't seem to know which way to push. His moaning pants were almost coming out as sobs. Billy was so hard now he was squirming. He didn't have free hands to touch himself. He needed to get to the fucking soon, or he'd end up blowing his load on the sheets. That wouldn't do at all. He deemed Steve ready for the next step, and pulled out the toy. Steve made a sound that sounded vaguely disappointed. It made Billy grin as he moved back up Steve's body. When he got up to his lips Billy kissed him deeply, and passionately. He tried to convey everything he was feeling right now; lust, love, trust, acceptance, a raging need to come. He pressed his hips down to grind their dicks together. Steve pressed back. They spend time just grinding together, but not long. Billy flat out needed to be inside Steve at this point, and any resolve he might have to wait until Steve was completely ready was eroding at breakneck speed. He broke the kiss and looked into the other man's eyes.   
“Are you ready for this, pretty boy?”  
“Abso-fucking-lutely.” He grinned in a way that was full of want and mischief. “Take me, hot stuff. I want you in me.”   
A moan tumbled out of Billy when he heard the words. Steve was relaxed enough to joke around. He was ready. Billy pulled back just enough to open a wrapped condom. He kissed Steve again while putting it on. Then he sat back, applied liberal amounts of lube, positioned himself at Steve's entrance, and started pushing slowly inside. 

Steve breathed unevenly as he felt Billy cock enter his body. It really was different from the toy. Not just because it was considerably bigger. Billy's cock was firm and hot. It felt somehow unforgiving as it pushed in, even though Billy was being beyond considerate. Every time Steve's insides protested. Billy pulled slightly back and slowly tried again, until the twitching and tightening loosened and let him further in. The result was a painless slow filling of Steve's body in a way he hadn't even come close to experiencing before. He was full of Billy. Close to him, and connected in a profound way. He loved this man, and trusted him with everything he had, and was. They'd done it the other way around so many times, but this was the closest he'd felt to Billy. Like he was giving more to Billy than he had before. In a way he was. He was showing him fully that he was the most special person in Steve's life. The one he was willing to give everything to, and share everything with. Steve was, in all ways he could think of, Billy's, now more than ever, and there was nothing he wanted to change about that. Billy started moving, and Steve found it difficult to do anything other than get lost in the sensation. In spite of the lube there was a feeling of friction as Billy's cock moved in and out of him, but it wasn't an uncomfortable feeling. He quickly found he very much liked it. Billy thrust slowly, but deliberately. He was careful, but not overly gentle. He was being considerate, but Steve appreciated not being treated like there was a danger he'd somehow break. Steve found himself unable to not make noise as Billy pushed into him over and over, so he stopped even trying. He let himself make whatever sound his body wanted him to. Moments later Billy did the same, after seemingly holding back until he was sure Steve was doing okay. They voiced their pleasure together, their moans and pants mingling around them, until they became another layer on the experience. Steve reached up and pulled Billy down into a kiss. It was wet and messy; neither of them able to draw enough air through their noses. Their new position provided friction for Steve's cock, and in the middle of the kiss Billy started moving faster. Steve had a moment where he thought “holy shit, I'm being fucked by a man”, before he lost coherency again. 

Being balls deep in Steve was hands down one of the best experiences of Billy's life. Right up there with being on the receiving end of Steve's dick. Steve's insides were tight and hot, with occasional pulses gripping Billy's dick even tighter. Billy wanted the experience to last, but he could feel it wouldn't last anywhere as long as he hoped it would. It felt so damn good, and not just physically. Steve letting him do this, _wanting_ him to do it, was an intense experience. Billy felt trusted, and loved, just like he trusted and loved the man he was currently making love to. That was what it felt like. It wasn't fucking, or just sex. It was making love, in one of the most profound ways he'd ever felt before. Except maybe that first time in Steve's bed. This bed. That had been like now. Billy wanted Steve to keep this bed forever. He also wanted to spend more nights in it. Maybe every night. Maybe soon. Billy moved faster; the need to come overshadowing other needs right now. Steve wrapped his arms over Billy's shoulders, and his legs around his back, and held him tight. Billy moved a hand between them so he could touch Steve's dick, and used his other arm to hold Steve tight in return. Maintaining any sort of kiss was impossible now. They were both panting heavily; their heart rates skyrocketing. Billy moved his face down against Steve's neck, where he could breathe in the scent and heat of the other man. Billy found he didn't have room between them to do much more than hold Steve's dick, and squeeze rhythmically to try to match their other movements. It seemed like it was enough, because Steve's body tensed all around Billy, and he groaned loudly. Billy increased the pace; pumping harder to let Steve feel what it was like to be thoroughly fucked. It was a unique feeling. One worth experiencing. Steve moaned brokenly now. Breathless sounds pushed out of him with every thrust, every pant. Billy wasn't faring much better. His entire world now was Steve. Everything he could see, hear, taste, smell, and feel was Steve. His moans, his heat, his sweat soaked skin, his rapid heartbeat. Billy was overwhelmed. He moved his head just enough that he could speak into Steve's ear.   
“I love you, Steve. I love you so much I don't even know what to do about it.” Billy kissed the ear. He thrust all the way into Steve and held there, so close to coming his body trembled. “I love you so fucking much I could marry you tomorrow, and promise the rest of my life to you, and never regret it.”   
A long drawn out groan slid from Steve's lips. Billy's felt Steve's dick and hole start pulsing erratically, before his whole body shuddered. He was coming, and Billy let go at the same time. He was helpless not to. They came together, and to Billy it felt like pure love. 

They came down together just as they'd fallen over the edge together. Billy stayed on top of Steve as he slowly came back to his senses. He was heavy, but Steve found it comfortable. He could feel and hear Billy's heartbeat and breathing, as they both slowed back to normal. He felt sated, relaxed, and ridiculously happy. He could definitely do this again. Not every time, because being balls deep in Billy was the greatest thing in the history of ever, but sometimes this way would be cool. He was sure Billy agreed. God, the words Billy had said to him right before he came. Just thinking about it hit Steve like a truck. He petted Billy's hair, and murmured to him; to not ruin the quiet moment.   
“I love you too. So fucking much it's changed my whole goddamn world. And I'd never regret it either.”   
Billy lifted his head and looked at him, and kissed him like it was the most important thing in the world. Like _Steve_ was the most important thing. Before the kiss was over, Billy pulled out of him. It was a very strange sensation. After a small pause Billy lay down next to him. Steve guessed the pause was to dispose of the condom. Their sweaty skin quickly started to cool, so they scooted around until they were under the covers. Somewhere in the middle of the scooting the dildo hit the floor with a thump. Neither moved to pick it up. Steve snuggled up close to Billy as soon as he could. He was tired, and getting sleepy, but also felt so amazingly good that he felt like he could take on anything the world might throw at him. He loved Billy, and Billy loved him back, and it was fucking insane, and the best feeling in existence. As he lay there, sliding slowly off to sleep in the arms of the man he loved, Steve's mind drifted to his future. Going to school, and maybe becoming a teacher. Maybe moving back to Hawkins and getting all those things they talked about when they were feeling silly and sappy. Maybe some day even getting to do the marriage thing they'd both absurdly offered each other in the heat of the moment. Steve meant it, and he knew Billy did too. His future was full of maybes, but there was one thing in it that wasn't a maybe. One person he knew would be there for all of it. One person who had come out of nowhere and changed everything for the better. The person he already loved more than anyone, even though their time together had only just started. The former biggest asshole Steve had ever met. Billy. Fucking. Hargrove.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was even later than I hoped. I'm sorry for that. (I managed to kill my keyboard when I was flat broke.) 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has come with me on the crazy ride that has been writing this story. Thank you for taking the chance on a work in progress. All the encouragements really helped keep me going. It helped keep it fun to write from beginning to end. You are all awesome!


End file.
